Packaging Toys for Kids Fighting Cancer

One of the Mad Hatter Dinner Party highlights was the live auction. One prize included a “Package Toys for Kids Fighting Cancer” event at the Treasure Chest Foundation warehouse. Live Auctioneer Kevin Fitzpatrick urged the guests to bid on an opportunity to work inside the Orland Park facility. Five guests raised their paddles for a chance to bundle toys for shipping at the Treasure Chest Foundation. All five guests were winners thus donating $1,000 to the charity.

Mad Hatter guest and live auction winner Diane Casaz from Tinley Park was the first to take the challenge of packaging more than 300 pounds of toys for shipping. When asked about her experience Diane said, “I’ve known of the Treasure Chest Foundation since its beginnings. Bringing joy to children is a wonderful thing to do.” Treasure Chest Foundation Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel said, “We are incredibly proud to host Diane who willingly made the decision to work for children fighting cancer. It takes hours and patience to package the toys like a giant puzzle.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 13,300 young cancer patients in 55 cancer treatment centers in 19 states across the nation. 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 26th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2019.

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