OP_120816

28 | December 8, 2016 | The orland park prairie Life & Arts
opprairie.com
Dave & Buster’s donates appreciation
luncheon for Treasure Chest volunteers
Submitted by Treasure
Chest Foundation
Going for a ride
The Bridge welcomes teens to Horseback Riding program
Dave & Buster’s Special Events Manager April Witte (back
left) and Assistant General Manager Kylah Bishop oversee
the Treasure Chest Foundation volunteer appreciation
luncheon, held recently at Dave & Buster’s in Orland Park.
Photo submitted
The Pediatric Oncology
Treasure Chest Foundation’s
weekly volunteers recently
were recognized for their
commitment and dedication
at the third annual volunteer
luncheon, donated by Dave
& Buster’s in Orland Park.
The Treasure Chest Foundation
is an Orland Parkbased,
nonprofit organization
that provides comfort and
distraction from painful treatments
to children and teens
diagnosed with cancer by
providing a toy or gift card in
49 hospitals nationwide.
Dave & Buster’s Special
Events Manager April Witte
thanked the weekly volunteers
who convene every
week throughout the year for
their gift of service. Every
Friday, the core group of senior
age volunteers arrives at
the Treasure Chest Foundation
headquarters and begins
to prepare hundreds of toys
for shipping to children and
teens battling cancer.
The POTCF is a unique organization
that impacts more
than 10,000 young cancer
patients each month in 49
hospitals across 17 states.
Nowhere else in the nation
does such a program exist.
OTCF Founder and CEO
Colleen Kisel started the organization
in 1996 after her
then 7-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, 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 23rd anniversary
of remission from the
disease earlier this year.
For more information
about the Treasure Chest
Foundation, contact Kisel at
(708) 687-8697 or visit www.
treasurechest.org.
Jill Sachs, of Palos Heights, poses for a photo during a recent Horseback Riding program
with The Bridge Teen Center, of Orland Park. Photo submitted
Learning little guitars
The Bridge Teen Center alumnus leads Ukulele program
Central alumni to march in Cali
Three former
students selected in
nationwide contest
Submitted by D146
Three former Central
Middle School students,
now attending Marian Catholic
High School, have been
selected to march in the
2017 Tournament of Roses
Parade.
Ryan Lavin, a junior; Jacob
Kopczyk, a sophomore;
and Kyle Lavin, a freshman;
have been selected by the
nonprofit Music for All to
join the Bands of America
Honor Band at the annual
parade in Pasadena, California.
Ryan Lavin plays the
trombone, Kopczyk plays
the trumpet, and Kyle Lavin
plays the tuba. The three will
spend a week in southern
California to take part in rehearsals.
They will also perform
at Disneyland and the
Tournament of Roses Bandfest
prior to their featured
appearance in the world-famous
parade.
This is the fourth time
Music for All’s Bands of
America Honor Band has
performed in the Tournament
of Roses Parade. The
parade is broadcast on numerous
national networks
and is seen in more than 200
international territories and
countries.
Community Consolidated
School District 146 features
Central Middle School,
Fierke Education Center,
Fulton School, Kruse Education
Center and Memorial
School. Students from
Tinley Park, Orland Park
and Oak Forest attend D146
schools.
Bridge Teen Center alumnus Kit Tupas (far right) leads a recent Ukulele program at the
Orland Park spot. Photo submitted