Treasure Chest Foundation honors volunteers of the year.

The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF) recently recognized its 2018 Volunteer of the Year, Orland Park residents George and Grace Reddel, during the Ninth Annual Treasuring Our Kids Fundraiser in Tinley Park.

Every Thursday, 91-year-old Orland Park resident George Reddel is joined by wife Grace in volunteering their time as they label and process toys at the Treasure Chest Foundation’s Orland Park warehouse. The pair are joined each week in their volunteer efforts by eight to ten clients of Elim Christian Services.

The dedicated folks who volunteer their time and talents each-and-every week at the Treasure Chest Foundation all share a common energy and enthusiasm for their work, and George and Grace are no exception.

George was able to shed a little light on what makes him and his wife of 35 years tick. “We enjoy helping out,” he says, as a matter of fact. “It is good to get up and get out and help. If you don’t keep moving forward, you fall backward.”

George also marvels at how fast time flies when he’s having fun. “The ten years we’ve worked here have gone by so fast.” “Volunteering at the Foundation is a great honor for us,” says Grace. “We love working with the staff and all of the volunteers here. There are so many smiling faces, and Colleen’s people skills are phenomenal. Treating others with kindness seems to come automatic for her.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 13,000 young cancer patients enduring 20,000 clinic visits each month in 19 states across the nation. 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 25th 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.

Photo caption:

Orland Park residents and Treasure Chest Foundation 2018 Volunteers of the Year George and Grace Reddel give a heartfelt speech at the recent Ninth Annual Treasuring Our Kids Fundraiser at Odyssey Country Club in Tinley Park.