Five-Year-Old Orland Park Girl is Giving to Children with Cancer

A five-year-old Orland Park girl is giving to children fighting cancer by donating toys to the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. Samantha Meyer (age 5) wanted to buy toys for kids fighting cancer after watching a video. Samantha said, “I wanted to help kids like the ones in the YouTube videos.”

“Most little girls are thinking about what toys they want, not about how they can help others,” said Colleen Kisel, Founder and CEO of the Treasure Chest Foundation. “Samantha is an inspiration, and we sincerely thank the Meyer family for their wonderful act of kindness that will help so many little ones fighting cancer.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 14,600 young cancer patients in 62 cancer treatment centers in 20 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 this year.

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