By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

CALERA— A few months ago, Calera Middle School student Brynlee Davenport decided she wanted to do something nice for the Children’s Hospital, knowing that many of those children wouldn’t be able to spend Christmas at home.

At first, Davenport said she thought about hosting a toy drive, but thought it might be too expensive because all the toys had to be brand new.

Then she found out about the Sugar Plum Shop, a shop for parents to get items for free for their children, so Davenport decided to collect pampering items to feature.

“I really thought I would get a couple boxes to donate, but me and my cousin together were able to donate nine boxes of items,” Davenport said in a Dec. 21 interview.

She delivered about $500 worth of items, such as lotions, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, nail polish and more, to the hospital Dec. 18. The items were left at the “Elf Depot” and Davenport left a note with the estimated number of donations.

Davenport and her cousin started out by making a Facebook page for the collection, and then people just continued to share the link. Family, friends and friends of friends donated items, according to Davenport.

“When I found out we donated that much, it was like ‘Oh my gosh,’” she said. “It was really awesome.”

This was Davenport’s first time donating items to Children’s Hospital, but she said she really enjoyed feeling like she made a difference in someone’s Christmas. She plans to continue holding a service project each Christmas.

“I want to start doing more because I feel like they don’t have the choice to enjoy Christmas because they are stuck in the hospital,” she said.