When Mickey Guisewite's 12-year-old son, Jack, was fighting stage 4 leukemia, there was little in his young life he could control.
There were hospital stays, treatments and an uncertain future. But there were also toys.
“The toys gave him something positive to focus on, which helped with the emotional side of his treatment,” she recalls.
Mickey met many families in the same situation, with children who were confined to their beds for long hospital stays. Many of those families were so emotionally and financially overwhelmed that the possibility of a new toy was an impossibility.
That’s when she made herself a promise: “If we ever got to the other side of this, I wanted to start a program that could help other families coping with critical illness.”
They did get to the other side. Jack recovered and today works in film production in Los Angeles. And the promise his mother made during those frightening days became The Bottomless Toy Chest.
Launched as a pilot program at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in 2008, the nonprofit provides what it calls “toy experiences” to young cancer patients.
It’s grown far beyond Mickey’s original vision: More than 37,000 toys are donated and distributed every year at 34 hospitals in 16 states.
That includes right here at Children’s Hospital of Michigan-Troy and Corewell Health Children’s at Beaumont Troy.
Mickey is quick to explain that the nonprofit’s mission is much more than handing out toys. Every gift is brand new and carefully selected. Toys are wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon, helping protect children with compromised immune systems. Whenever possible, children are offered several gifts from which to choose.
That choice matters.
“So many decisions are being made for them,” Mickey says. “This gives them a choice in an environment where all their choices are made for them.”
And then there’s the simple pleasure of opening a present. “We’re obviously not here to cure cancer,” she says, “but I do think our job is to cure a bad day, or to make a bad day a little bit better.”
Troy mom Lingmin Lin knows firsthand how much those moments can mean. Her son Mark, now 10, became critically ill at age seven. During hospital stays, Mark especially loved receiving Legos and remote-control cars from the nonprofit.
“They always brightened his day,” Lingmin says. “A Lego set could occupy Mark for hours, giving him something besides treatment to think about.”
Those gestures meant something to Lingmin, too. “It reminds parents like me that somewhere in the world, somebody is thinking about your child.”
Throughout the year, The Bottomless Toy Chest brings other special experiences into hospitals. In December, its Tons of Toys program transforms hematology and oncology units into winter wonderlands, complete with Santa, crafts, volunteers and gifts for patients and siblings.
That requires a lot of support, and there are plenty of ways to help. The Bottomless Toy Chest welcomes financial donations and brand-new toys (receipts must be attached), while businesses, schools, churches, sports teams and other groups can organize toy drives, fundraisers or volunteer wrapping events.
“We’re grateful for every donation, large or small,” Mickey says.
“We really need volunteers to wrap the presents,” she adds with a laugh. “The children love to unwrap their presents, so we need volunteers who love to do the wrapping.”
It’s true that a toy cannot change a diagnosis. It can’t shorten a hospital stay or take away a parent’s fear. But for an individual child, on a very difficult day, it can bring back something illness has taken away: a little choice, a little normalcy and the simple joy of being a kid.
That individual child matters deeply to Mickey.
“What’s really most important to us is helping that one child experience joy, feel comfort and feel strong while they’re going through treatment.”
To donate a new toy (with the receipt attached) or volunteer, visit bottomlesstoychest.org or call (248) 646-8931.