Tinley Park Merit Insurance Group Insures to Help Kids

The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation recently received a load of toys, $30 in gift cards and $125 to benefit children fighting cancer thanks to the tireless work of the Tinley Park Merit Insurance Group and their generous patrons. The Tinley Park Merit Insurance Group hosted their second-holiday toy drive throughout December to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation.

Merit Insurance Group is an independent full-service agency established in 2008.

Owner Gina Miller said, “The Treasure Chest Foundation does such great work. My brother died of Neuroblastoma, and we wanted to do our part.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel expressed her appreciation, saying, “The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful for this enormous donation. Thanks to the generosity of the Tinley Park Merit Insurance Group hundreds of children fighting cancer will continue to be rewarded with a toy for their bravery.”

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.