Trinity Lutheran Church Helps Children and Teens Fighting Cancer

seventh annual holiday toy drive to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. Parishioners collected 100’s of toys and gifts to help children and teens fighting cancer.

Trinity Lutheran Church’s mission is to make salvation in Christ known and building personal relationships with Him and one another. Parishioner Joan Miller said, “I have been living with cancer for six years. Your story touched our hearts so much and we thought it was a great idea and what a great way to energize the kids to do their treatments.” Parishioner Charlene Hyre chimed in saying, “Cancer touches everyone.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her profound gratitude for the generous support shown by the Trinity Lutheran Church parishioners. “The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful for seven years of enormous donations of toys, gifts, gift cards and the continuous support of Trinity Lutheran Church,” said an appreciative Ms. Kisel. “It is wonderful to see the giving members of this church come together to help little ones whose lives have become filled with doctors, nurses, surgeries, pills, chemotherapy, radiation and mostly painful, painful procedures.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 14,000 young cancer patients in 59 cancer 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 26th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2019.

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.