Tinley Park Girl Makes a Difference to Help Children Fighting Cancer

Children battling cancer will have reason to smile thanks to Tinley Park resident Noelle Lovegren (age 11) who donated brand-new toys to benefit the Treasure Chest Foundation. Noelle said, “ I wanted to help the kids with cancer have a better life. I wanted to give the kids something to play with.”

“It is nice to witness children helping children,” said an appreciative Colleen Kisel, Founder of the Treasure Chest Foundation. “We are happy to have the support of young Noelle. The toys will brighten the lives of brave kids battling cancer, ” said Colleen.

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 16,100 young cancer patients in 66 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 29th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2022.

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.