SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. A Lake Brantley High School student is joining Santa's team this Christmas. She travels around town hoping to help her community and bring joy to children this
- She is collecting toys for Kids Beating Cancer
- Get more Everyday Heroes here and nominate someone you know
When she shuts the door to her mother's SUV, Isabella Miguez tells her mom to take her to Bruster's Ice Cream. She is not asking her mother for ice cream, but she is hoping for a sweet surprise.
As the Lake Brantley High School sophomore approaches the ice cream counter she asks the man behind the glass, "How is my box today?"
"I decided to do a toy drive," Miguez says. "It is the holidays and to donate it to the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute and Kids Beating Cancer."
On November 1, Miguez launched her Help The Kids campaign by creating a flyer and placing gift-wrapped boxes at local businesses in Altamonte Springs and Longwood. For her, seeing others leave toys in her bin is all she needs this holiday season.
"It's amazing, because I know that these toys are going to go to kids where there parents may not be able to afford buying them Christmas presents," Miguez said. "I can give them a smile on Christmas morning, when their parents may be financially struggling."
Throughout the week, she will hop in the SUV with her mother, who will then drive her around town to check on her boxes hoping to see them filled.
On the day, Spectrum News 13 spent with Miguez, her box was not empty. It was filled with toys, board games, and puzzles.
"This is something that I've always wanted to do," Miguez says with a smile going through her box. "I now am actually taking the time to do it."
And this six weeks of collecting, fundraising, and gifting toys to those who need it is her way of being considered one of Santa's helpers.
"My perfect Christmas would be for all of this to work out and for these kids to be happy," Miguez said.
She plans on dropping off all the toys she collects a few days before Christmas. She has a GoFundMe page called Help The Kids where her goal is to raise $3,000 to buy even more toys.
GoFundMe.com sites are not managed by Spectrum News 13. For more information on how the site works and the rules, visit http://www.gofundme.com/safety.