Tampa General Hospital brings Christmas joy to children in foster care

TAMPA, Fla. - In a room at Tampa General Hospital, Santa and his elves are getting ready for Christmas. 

For 30 years, Delwyn Collins has been leading the charge at Tampa General Hospital to bring Christmas joy to children in foster care.

"It’s not about me or you,” Collins explained. “It’s about the kids." 

The hospital collects more than 800 presents every year to help bring holiday cheer to the kids. "The true meaning of Christmas is giving and loving," explained Collins. 

Collins started his passion three decades ago by helping single moms buy gifts for their children. He started a Foster Angels program at TGH, where he is a dishwasher. Thanks to Collins, the effort has been a big success.  

"I think that we got at least 30-40% of our employees now contributing to this program every single year," said TGH employee Kim Christine. "It’s absolutely incredible what he's done and what he built," said Christine. 

Collins had medical issues earlier this year but is now recovering. "This year, it’s been rough on me, but I lived through it,” Collins said. I lived through this whole thing to tell about it." 

Nothing can stop Santa and his helpers from making Christmas dreams come true.