Tinley Park Resident Delivers Smiles of Joy to Children with Cancer

Treasure Chest Foundation Board Secretary and weekly volunteer Tammy Girten of Tinley Park believes in supporting children and teens fighting cancer. Tammy delivered a vanload of toys to the Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital in Maywood to benefit the Treasure Chest Foundation.

Tammy began volunteering in 2018 after learning about the mission of the Foundation from her Aunt Jane Rozdilsky. In May of 2022, Tammy Girten was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Treasure Chest Foundation. When asked about delivering the toys Tammy Girten said, “I remember the joy in the eyes of the kids when they saw me bring in the toys.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel said, “Tammy’s passion for the children and teens we serve is an asset to our nonprofit. Tammy is a true treasure.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 15,700 young cancer patients in 65 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 this year.

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.