In the spirit of increasing awareness of the benefits of modern cloth diapers, Cutie Poops and Bottoms of Orland Park is helping children fighting cancer. The store recently participated in a worldwide event called The Great Cloth Diaper Change which also benefitted the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation (POTCF).
Cutie Poops and Bottoms is a cloth diaper and natural baby boutique dedicated to providing earth friendly and chemical free products for both mother and child. The POTCF 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 44 hospitals across 15 states nationwide.
Orland Park-area customers participating in The Great Cloth Diaper Change were also asked to bring a new toy for a child fighting cancer. The huge event, in which people around the world simultaneously change their babies into 100% reusable cloth diapers, was witnessed and recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records. Early unofficial results indicated more than 10,000 diapers were changed in nearly 200 locations. And shortly after the diaper-changing extravaganza had concluded, Cutie Poops and Bottoms had collected 110 toys to benefit children and teens fighting cancer.
Cutie Poops and Bottoms Owner Sherri Edwards said, "I chose to help the Treasure Chest Foundation because I have young children of my own, and I can't imagine how hard it would be having a sick child. With four-year-old twins, I know how much joy a new toy can bring to a child. Anything that can put smiles on the faces of young cancer patients or help them get through a treatment is worth it."
POTCF Founder and CEO Colleen Kisel said, "The Treasure Chest Foundation is thankful for the generosity of each and every parent who contributed toys following the Great Cloth Diaper Change. It is wonderful to have the support of such a generous community."
The POTCF is a unique organization whose services impact more than 8,500 young cancer patients each month. Nowhere else in the nation does such a program exist. Ms. 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, 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 20th anniversary of remission from the disease earlier this year.
