Wilmette Brothers Organize Holiday Toy Drive to Help Children

The family and friends of eleven-year-old Blake and eight-year-old Brandon Sander are giving to children fighting cancer. Wilmette brothers hosted a holiday toy drive by asking neighbors, friends, family and their school to donate a toy with the goal of helping children and teens fighting cancer. Two vanloads of toys were collected to be distributed to children fighting cancer to the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation in Orland Park. Young Blake Sander said, “We wanted to have more toys to donate for the children in the hospital.” Eight-year-old Brandon chimed in saying, “I wanted to share with the kids who have cancer.”

Blake and Brandon’s dad Jason Sander said, “We were thrilled to help again this year for our sixth annual toy drive. With the help of our generous friends and family, this was our most successful toy drive to date as we were able to collect two vanloads of toys. The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation is an amazing organization and we're happy that we can do our little part to help brighten the day of children that are in the hospital due to cancer.”

Treasure Chest Foundation CEO and Founder Colleen Kisel extended her most sincere gratitude to the Sander family for their efforts in organizing such a successful annual holiday toy drive. “The Treasure Chest Foundation is especially grateful to the Sander family for their enormous donation of two big vanloads of toys,” said a grateful Colleen Kisel, Founder and CEO of the Treasure Chest Foundation. “We are certainly grateful to be able to distribute such an impressive number of toys to the brave children and battling cancer.”

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 29th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2022.

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.