South Side Muskie Hawks Net Huge Catch of Toys and Gift Cards

South Side Muskie Hawks in Chicago netted toys and $345 recently to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF). The club hosted a Christmas party and asked members to bring a toy, gift or gift card for children fighting cancer.

South Side Muskie Hawks Club is an organization of men and women who meet monthly to discuss fishing techniques, conduct seminars about local lakes and to organize fishing trips.

South Side Muskie Club fisherman Frank Knight said, “In spite of all we have been through, we always have room in our hearts for the recipients of these toys. That is who we are.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her gratitude for the generous support shown by the Fishing Club members. “The South Side Muskie Hawks fishing club members' tremendous support will brighten the lives of so many brave children and teens battling cancer,” said an appreciative 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 29th 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.