Marzillo Family Gives Back to Treasure Chest Foundation

The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation received a donation of toys, gifts and $150 in gift cards thanks to the thoughtfulness and generosity of an Elmwood Park Family whose granddaughter had benefitted from services provided by the Foundation.

Five years ago, three-year-old Stella was diagnosed with cancer. Young Stella received many toys from the Treasure Chest at Lurie Children’s Hospital as part of the Foundation’s ongoing program to provide comfort and distraction from painful procedures to children diagnosed with cancer. Throughout the ordeal, her family noted how receiving a toy had helped Stella endure countless painful treatments and in 2016 the Marzillo Family started the Stella’s Stars family toy drive. Since the inception of the Stella’s Stars toy drive over 1,000 toys have been donated along with $700 in gift cards for teens. The Marzillo Family requested that the Treasure Chest Foundation ship Stella’s Stars toys to Lurie Children’s Hospital treasure chest program. Each toy was labeled indicating the gift was generously donated in honor of Stella Marzillo and Stella’s Stars by means of the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. As fate would have it little Stella has picked out her own Stella’s Stars toys.

Seven-year-old Stella said, “The toys made me smile and I felt happy that I had something to play with. I like to make people feel the way I feel when I get a toy.” Elmwood Park grandmother Dale Marzillo said, “Every child needs to get that smile on their face.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 14,600 young cancer patients in 61cancer 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 27th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2020.

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 web site at www.treasurechest.org.