On February 15, 1993,
seven-year-old Martin Kisel was diagnosed with Acute
Lymphocytic Leukemia, commonly known as ALL. During the
following three years, Martin—like so many other young
cancer patients—experienced a series of painful procedures
as well as intensive chemotherapy as part of his treatment
protocol.
As Martin endured the
seemingly endless procedures, his mother, Colleen Kisel,
discovered that providing him with a small toy after each
procedure resulted in a calming distraction from his pain.
Colleen could see the joy these toys gave her son and
believed this would be good for all children who were being
treated for cancer. She began a letter writing campaign to
solicit donations, and in August of 1996 her efforts paid
off when she was honored with a large donation from Aramark
Corporation. That donation officially launched the
Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation.
In the ensuing years,
the Foundation has experienced phenomenal growth thanks to
the caring support from hundreds of individual and corporate
donors and benefactors. Today, we can proudly point to our
32 locations spread across 10 states nationwide and know
that more than 5,000 young children and teens are being
comforted each month as they endure the hardships of cancer
treatment. Annual fundraising events such as the Heart of
Gold Gala dinner/auction and the Toys for Our Treasures
Retro Dance Party have helped us accomplish our objective of
providing toys and smiles to kids with cancer.
The following incident
illustrates the program’s positive impact on the lives of
children with cancer . . .
On a recent visit to
the clinic, Colleen and her son Marty heard a little boy
about three or four years old crying in one of the treatment
rooms. Marty turned to his mother and exclaimed, "He's
getting a bone marrow, Mom!" Marty knew that having a bone
marrow extracted from his hip would be a very painful
procedure. Suddenly, the crying stopped and the young boy
exclaimed, “Do I get my toy now?” The nurses happily said,
“Follow us,” and off the young boy went like a proud soldier
to the treasure chest full of toys
