Old National Bank Banks the Books for Children with Cancer

Old National Bank and their employees recently hosted “Reading Across the Region” fundraiser to collect books to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF). 30 South Suburban area Old National Bank locations collected books from March 2nd to March 17th and donated nearly one thousand children’s books to help brighten the faces of children who are battling cancer. March 2nd is “National Read Across America Day” and was established in 1988 to help kids get excited about reading.

Old National Bank is an American regional bank with nearly 200 retail branches operated by Old National Bancorp and based in Chicago, Illinois and Evansville, Indiana. Blue Island Old National Bank Community Branch Market Manager Kim Gunaka said, “My son had thyroid cancer when he was nine years old, and he was able to participate in the Treasure Chest at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital. This is near and dear to my heart.”

POTCF Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel is especially grateful to Old National Bank and its employees for their efforts in raising such an impressive total. “Thanks to the success of this creative fundraiser, 2023 will be brighter and happier for thousands of brave children who benefit from our services throughout the nation,” said Ms. Kisel.

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 16,100 young cancer patients in 66 cancer treatment centers in 21 states across the nation and in the District of Columbia. Nowhere else in the nation does such a program exist. Colleen Kisel founded the organization in 1996 after her then seven-year-old son Martin had been diagnosed with leukemia in 1993. Ms. Kisel discovered that giving her son a toy after each procedure provided a calming distraction from his pain, noting that when children are diagnosed with cancer their world soon becomes filled with doctors, nurses, chemotherapy drugs, surgeries and seemingly endless painful procedures. Martin celebrated his 30th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of this year.

If you would like further information about the Treasure Chest Foundation, please contact Colleen Kisel at 1-708-687-TOYS (8697) or visit the Foundation’s website at www.treasurechest.org.