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Rollins College student honored for creating charity for children in hospital

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Published  May 7, 2025 9:52am EDT
FOX 35 Care Force
FOX 35 Orlando
FOX 35 Care Force: Honoring Project for Hope founder

FOX 35 Care Force: Honoring Project for Hope founder

Rollins College senior created Project for Hope to donate stuffed animals to kids in the hospital. Cecilia Hernandez knows first-hand what it is like to be in and out of hospitals due to several health complications. Since 2012, her charity has grown to include volunteers who have helped donate more than 1,000 stuffed animals to the Ronald McDonald House of Central Florida.

The Brief

    • Rollins College senior created Project for Hope to donate stuffed animals to kids in the hospital.
    • Cecilia Hernandez knows first-hand what it is like to be in and out of hospitals due to several health complications.
    • Since 2012, her charity has grown to include volunteers who have helped donate more than 1,000 stuffed animals to the Ronald McDonald House of Central Florida.

WINTER PARK, Fla. - Cecilia Hernandez is a Rollins College senior helping to bring a smile to children’s faces during their time in the hospital. An experience she knows all too well.

On campus, Hernandez can often be spotted with her service dog, Canella.

"In my freshman year, two weeks before college, I went into emergency surgery, and it turned out that because of my conditions I kept dissociating from my pain," she said. "So I couldn’t tell when something was truly wrong. So at that point, I got Canella because she’s able to alert me – tell me in advance – for example, to take Tylenol in advance or before a flare-up is going to happen, or if I’m so focused on my work I don’t realize that I’m in immense pain or something is incredibly wrong with me."

Hernandez has been in and out of the hospital since she was 9 years old due to several health complications like an autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, cysts and endometriosis.

What is Project Hope?

What they're saying:

"One thing that always cheered myself up was when somebody would give me a stuffed animal because it was something I could hold while I was going to the hospital," she said. "But it also meant that someone was hoping that I would get better and that’s how the title came about – Project for Hope."

Through Project for Hope, she started collecting stuffed animals and writing notes to the kids to help them get through tough times.

"Being a kid who was always in the hospital I felt like it was so important to acknowledge that these children are in pain and that this pain is real," Hernandez said. "A lot of people like to say you’re young you’re going to get better. But unfortunately that’s not always the case."

Since 2012, she has donated more than 1,000 stuffed animals to the Ronald McDonald House charities of Central Florida.As her charity grows, Hernandez has recruited volunteers to help with her mission.

"Just to see somebody who started something as just a dream when she was a kid just because it was something that she went through personally is really inspiring," said volunteer Christie Versace.

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The Source: This story was written based on interviews and information collected by FOX 35's Amanda McKenzie. 

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