A Bay area girl is proving that hard work pays off. At 11-years-old she's making sure there are toys for all the kids at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg. 

  • Bay area girl buys toys for sick kids with profits from 'flip floppies'
  • Michelina, 11, creates and sells flip flops, called floppies
  • Profits go toward buying toys for kids at John Hopkins All Children's Hospital
  • Click here to purchase flip flops

Michelina has been working hard all year making flip flops that she calls floppies. She is selling them at the Westshore Mall and she uses all of the profits from the floppies to buy toys for sick kids at All Children's Hospital. 

"I was a patient at All Children's Hospital at one time and it was close to my birthday and they gave me a present and I loved it so much," Michelina said. 

"Having her go to have testing done and then the big surgery day, they were so good to her and she asked me where the toys came from and I said, well people donate them, people in our community want to give back to the hospital, and I said there's no reason you can't be one of those special people who help other kids as well," Michelina's mom, Lisa Damianakis said. 

That is when floppies was born. Michelina makes the line of creative flip flops herself. 

"Instead of wearing all those boring ones without decorations, I added bows and dazzles," she said. 

Michelina sells the flip flops throughout the year online and at local craft fairs. Then, with all the money she makes, Michelina goes out and buys toys for the kids at John Hopkins All Children's Hospital. 

This year, Michelina raised over $2,000 with the help of the Watermark at Trinity, an assisted living facility in Palm Harbor. 

Friday, Dec. 8, Michelina played Santa and delivered all of the toys to the sick kids. 

"It's so important for me to give back because I got so many things and they took good care of me and I want to give back so the other kids feel the same way," she said. 

Each pair of floppies in $10 and they come in kid and adult sizes. One hundred percent of the profits go to purchasing the toys for the kids at the hospital.