Toys for Tyler’s Community Birthday Party Benefits Children Fighting Cancer

The St. Francis Xavier Catholic Women’s Club in LaGrange recently gave to children and teens fighting cancer by hosting a party titled “Toys for Tyler’s Community Birthday Party.” The event was held in memory of Tyler Duelm, a childhood cancer patient who lost his battle and who is continually remembered in the LaGrange community for courage in the face of tremendous adversity.

When the Community Birthday Party was over, more than 350 toys, $325 in gift cards and more than $620 had been collected for the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF), the organization that supported Tyler Duelm during his radiation treatment in 2006. Since its inception this popular event has raised more than $8,000 and more than a thousand toys for children and teens fighting cancer.

The mission of the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Women’s Club is to welcome new women into the parish, provide spiritual and social activities for members, encourage participation in parish life and promote charitable and humanitarian projects on behalf of the parish.

Tyler’s mother, Laura Duelm said, “Our family is happy to support the Treasure Chest Foundation. The charity continues to positively impact so many little ones lives.”

POTCF Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel said, “I feel blessed to have the support of the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Women’s Club. I feel sad when I think about the pain the Duelm family has had to endure. They have continued to support the Treasure Chest Foundation in memory of their beloved son Tyler for more than nine years, and for that we are so grateful.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 10,000 young cancer patients each month in 49 hospitals across 17 states. 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 23rd 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.