Volunteers Package Toys for the Treasure Chest Foundation

For the past couple of years, fifteen-year-old Derek Murray of Homer Glen has spent several days during his school vacations volunteering with his grandmother, Diana Karasek, who is a longtime Foundation volunteer and supporter. Here, Derek is back packaging toys while emptying toy collection bins to help the Treasure Chest Foundation during the busy holiday season.

Diana Karasek, Derek’s grandmother, and longtime volunteer said, "It warms my heart to know I make an impact on the lives of kids and teens fighting cancer." Her grandson chimed in by saying, "I like volunteering here. It is my favorite way to bond with my grandmother while giving back to help kids with cancer."

“The support of the local community means a lot and we are extremely grateful to Derek for his generosity in volunteering on his holiday school break,” said Treasure Chest Foundation Founder and CEO Colleen 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.