Lather by Mary is a Cut Above for Supporting Children with Cancer

Customers of Lather by Mary Dituri hairstyling salon in Tinley Park are a cut above when it comes to supporting children and teens fighting cancer. The customers joined together for the salon's first-holiday toy drive. The exciting event raised toys and gifts for the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that provides comfort and distraction from painful procedures to children and teens diagnosed with cancer. When the toy drive ended a large box of toys and gifts was delivered to the Treasure Chest Foundation warehouse in Orland Park.

When asked about the holiday toy drive, Lather Owner Mary Dituri said, “I’m friends with Salvatore Cirrincione the Vice President of the Treasure Chest Foundation board. This Foundation is near and dear to my heart.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her gratitude for the successful toy drive. “Lather by Mary formulated this wonderful idea to help support children and teens fighting cancer. The gifts will help us put a smile on the faces of the kids we serve throughout 2022,” said Ms. Kisel.

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 14,800 young cancer patients in 63 cancer treatment centers in 21 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 28th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2021.

If you would like further information about the Treasure Chest Foundation, please contact Colleen Kisel at 1-708-687-TOYS (8697) or visit the Foundation’s website at www.treasurechest.org.