Tinley Park MNM Riding Club Shifts Into High Gear to Help Kids

The Tinley Park MNM Riding Club shifted into high gear and recently cruised into the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation and delivered a check for $1,850 to benefit children and teens fighting cancer in memory of MNM Riding Club founding member Marie Innocenti. Marie battled cancer for five years and succumbed to the disease on June 26, 2020.

MNM RC is a non-for-profit, 501c3, riding club that has been in existence since 2009. The club has 80+ members who share the common goal of helping people in need. The club has adopted the expression “make the magic happen” as their fundraising incentive.

MNM Riding Club Vice President Mike Szydelko said, “Due to Covid-19 we were forced to cancel our planned bike run to help the Treasure Chest Foundation. We wanted to help any way we could.” Teresa Szydelko agreed, “The MNM Riding Club wants to be a part of putting a smile on the face of a child fighting cancer.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her gratitude for the generous support shown by the MNM Riding Club. “The MNM Riding Club is extremely generous to the Treasure Chest Foundation. A donation of this magnitude is a blessing and will brighten hospital visits for so many brave children and teens battling cancer. I was honored to meet Marie Innocenti, such a great person,” said Colleen.

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.