Palos Park Couple Donates to Help Children and Teens with Cancer

The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF) of Orland Park was overjoyed recently to receive an enormous donation of $30,000 from Palos Park couple Herb and Janice Walker. Foundation Board Member Herb and wife Janice sponsored the recent opening of the Foundation’s 54th Treasure Chest Program at the University of Missouri Women and Children’s Hospital in Columbia, MO. This program will provide services to more than 200 brave young central Missouri area cancer patients each month.

“I joined the Treasure Chest Foundation to help raise money to support their ongoing operations and to add new Treasure Chest Programs for providing toys to young cancer patients. Now that this facility is open, I look forward to sponsoring more programs in the future,” said Herb.

This latest display of generosity raises the total that Herb and Janice have donated since 2017 to an impressive $60,000. In addition to their sponsorship of the Missouri program, the Walkers have sponsored new Treasure Chest Programs in Cleveland and Toledo, OH. Their ongoing support enables the Treasure Chest Foundation to pursue its dream of eventually serving every childhood cancer patient nationwide.

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel said, “We feel so blessed and honored to have the support of the Walker family. Their donations help support thousands of children and teens who endure long-lasting cancer treatments by rewarding the little ones with a toy, gift or gift card after every procedure.”

Colleen went on to point out that despite their significant contributions, Herb and Janice are always reluctant to claim credit for the positive impact their support provides. Herb recently deflected praise to the Foundation’s dedicated staff of volunteers, saying that those who work every week to send toys and gifts to brave young cancer patients are the real ‘bread and butter’ of the operation. If so, then the Walkers are the effective ‘knife’ that helps spread vital services throughout a network of Treasure Chest Programs that continues to grow with their support.

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 13,300 young cancer patients enduring 20,000 clinic visits each month 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. She 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 25th anniversary of remission from the disease in early 2018.

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.