Orland Park Sister and Brother Duo are Helping Children with Cancer

Orland Park teenagers Jocelyn Cardenas (age 15) and Johnnie Cardenas (age 14) are giving back to children fighting cancer by volunteering during their spring break to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation. Jocelyn and Johnnie helped organize, label, pack and prepare the toys and gifts for shipment to Treasure Chests located in the various children’s cancer treatment centers served by the Foundation. The teens recognize the importance of their task, with Jocelyn saying, “We thought it would be nice to help kids that have cancer.”

“Spring break is a time when most teenagers sleep late and hang out with their friends but Jocelyn and Johnnie decided to help others by sharing their time and talents for kids fighting cancer. We are blessed to have the support of Jocelyn and Johnnie,” said Colleen Kisel, Founder and CEO of the Treasure Chest Foundation.

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 16,100 young cancer patients in 66 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 30th anniversary of remission from the disease earlier this March.

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.