Palos Park Girl Donates Birthday Presents to Child

The family and friends of Piper Sterling are giving to children fighting cancer. Eight-year-old Piper Sterling of Palos Park decided to ask friends and family to bring toys to her birthday party for children fighting cancer. The birthday party was hosted on November 18th at Fleetwood Roller Rink in Summit and over 30 friends and family attended. When the party was over, Piper accumulated over 100 toys to donate to The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. Piper said, “I donated my birthday gifts because I wanted to have a big party, so I can donate a lot of gifts to help kids with cancer and be their friend.”

Sawyer’s Mom Meghan Sterling sent birthday invitations with the website information of the Treasure Chest Foundation, so they can see for themselves all the good that is being done at the foundation. Meghan Sterling said, “Everyone loved the idea!”

“Hosting a toy drive to benefit children fighting cancer is such a wonderful idea. A special thanks to the Sterling Family and all their friends, they are a true inspiration,” said Colleen Kisel, Founder and CEO of the Treasure Chest Foundation.

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 13,000 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. 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 24th anniversary of remission from the disease earlier this year.

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.

Photo caption (left to right): Palos Park birthday girl Piper Sterling (age 8) proudly smiles while mom Meghan and sister Sawyer (age 5) looks on amongst the display of the donated toys at the Treasure Chest Foundation’s Orland Park warehouse. The toys will bring smiles of joy to thousands of children battling cancer across the nation.