The Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF) will hold its Fifth Annual Treasuring Our Kids Sport-A-Palooza on Saturday, April 5 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Chicago Gaelic Park, 6119 W. 147th Street in Oak Forest. The Treasure Chest Foundation is an Orland Park-based, non-profit organization that provides comfort and distraction from painful procedures to children and teens diagnosed with cancer by providing a toy or gift card in 46 hospitals nationwide.
The Sport-A-Palooza will help the Treasure Chest Foundation obtain the necessary funding to aid children battling cancer throughout Chicagoland and across the nation. Every year, approximately 13,500 children and teens are diagnosed with cancer nationwide and cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in children under the age of 15 in the United States.
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This year’s gala will offer exciting auctions beginning at 6:00 p.m., with the event’s featured prizes including four Walt Disney World one-day park hopper passes, two round trip tickets on Southwest, four tickets to Seaworld Orlando, four tickets to Aquatica SeaWorld’s Waterpark, Orlando, four passes to Universal Studios, Orlando, four Bears tickets with parking pass, Jack O’Callahan 1980 USA Olympic team gold medal jersey and a Gibson Les Paul guitar valued at $3,200. A buffet dinner at 7:00 p.m. will be followed by a festive night of music during which guests can showcase their dancing skills while enjoying an open bar and delicious food in a fun-filled setting.
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Sport-A-Palooza attendees will also have a chance to meet and greet baseball legends Dan Pasqua, a former member of the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox, and Milt Pappas, who pitched for 17 years for four major league teams including the Chicago Cubs. The evening will be emceed by Fox32 Chicago sports personality Dionne Miller, a veteran sports reporter who has covered NBA basketball, college football and anchored sportscasts in several states across the nation. Ms. Miller is recognized for her ability to relate to the audience, tell great stories and share the passion of sports viewers at every level.
If you would like further information about the Treasure Chest Foundation, please contact Colleen Kisel at 708-687-TOYS (8697) or to purchase tickets go to http://www.treasurechest.org/upcoming-events
The POTCF’s unique services impact more than 9,000 young cancer patients each month in 46 hospitals across 16 states and 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. She discovered that giving her son a toy after each procedure provided a calming distraction from his pain and his new world filled with doctors, nurses, chemotherapy drugs, surgeries and seemingly endless painful procedures. Martin will celebrate his 21st anniversary of remission from the disease in early 2014.
