Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce and Tinley Park Jaycees Team Up to Help Kids With Cancer

The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation recently received $955 in gift cards, $370 and toys to benefit children fighting cancer thanks to the tireless work of the Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce and Tinley Park Jaycees. The Orland Park-based non-profit Foundation provides comfort and distraction from painful treatments to children and teens diagnosed with cancer by providing a toy or gift card in 49 Children’s Cancer Treatment Centers nationwide.

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her appreciation, saying, “The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful for this enormous donation. Thanks to the generosity of the Tinley Park community thousands of children fighting cancer will continue to be rewarded with a toy or gift card for their bravery.”

The POTCF’s unique services impact more than 9,300 young cancer patients each month in 49 hospitals across 17 states and the District of Columbia. Nowhere else in the nation does such a program exist. Ms. 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 22nd anniversary of remission from the disease in 2015.

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:

(L-R) Tinley Park Chamber Christmas party guest Giuliano Cipolla and Chamber Board President Tom McNulty place their donated gift cards in the collection bucket while Board Member Maureen Cipolla and Tinley Park Chamber of Commerce Membership Services Jackie Bobbitt look on during the annual Christmas party.