New Lenox Childhood Cancer Patient Organizes Lemonade Stand

Ten months ago, Autumn Vaughn of New Lenox was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), at the age of five. Young Autumn decided to give back to the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF), the organization that helped her throughout her cancer treatment at Lurie Children’s Hospital, by hosting a lemonade stand. The lemonade stand was held on Saturday, August 29th from 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Vaughn home. When the last cup of lemonade was sold $1,323.00 was donated to the Treasure Chest Foundation.

Autumn’s mother Nicole recalled the positive effect that the toys from the Treasure Chest at Lurie Children’s Hospital provided to her daughter throughout her treatments. “The Treasure Chest gave my daughter the strength to endure the procedures knowing she would be rewarded for being so brave, said Nicole.”

The lemonade stand was the brainchild of young Autumn Vaughn. When asked how she felt about the lemonade stand, five-year-old Autumn said it best, “This was my idea. I wanted to get money for the Treasure Chest.”

Five-year-old Autumn Vaughn is wise beyond her years. She knows the treatment has to be done, she talks openly about it and it does not seem to faze her.

This brave girl who has endured ten months of medical procedures in her young life, is giving back to the Treasure Chest Foundation the charity that helped her so very much.

POTCF Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel said, “My heart was especially moved. We feel so blessed to have the support of the Vaughn family, their friends and neighbors, especially as we navigate this uncharted territory together during the global pandemic.”

The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 14,000 young cancer patients in 60 cancer treatment centers in 20 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 27th anniversary of remission from the disease in March of 2020.

If you would like further information about the Treasure Chest Foundation, please contact Colleen Kisel at 708-687-TOYS (8697) or visit the Foundation’s web site at www.treasurechest.org.