Student Ambassadors at Moraine Help Children Fighting Cancer

International Student Ambassadors at Moraine Valley Community College are giving back to children fighting cancer by hosting a Holiday Toy Drive to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF). The holiday toy drive collected play dough, matchbox cars, Barbie dolls, UNO cards and stuffed toys for children fighting cancer.

The International Student Affairs department provides comprehensive support services for international students at the college and enables positive academic and cultural experiences during their stay.

International Student Services Specialist Nereida Encina said “We appreciate what you do for children you support each month. The students wanted to give back to the community and chose your outstanding Foundation.”

POTCF Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel is grateful for the International Student Ambassadors at Moraine Valley Community College donation. Colleen said, “Charitable organizations have suffered in recent months. We lost many toy drive donors due to coronavirus, but we have also gained many new donors. We are thrilled to connect with new donors like the International Student Ambassadors community at Moraine Valley Community College.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 14,600 young cancer patients in 61cancer treatment centers in 20 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 27th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2020.

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.