Christmas is just days away and while many of us will spend the holiday with family and friends, some children will spend the day in the hospital.
But on Wednesday morning, Santa Claus paid them an early visit, hoping to brighten the time away from home.
Santa, with the help of local firefighters, delivered hundreds of toys to children in recovery at Palm Beach Children's Hospital. The event was made possible thanks to the Fraternal Order of Leatherhead Society (F.O.O.L.S.), an organization formed in 1995 by Central Florida firefighters.
It’s the 13th year the organization has delivered gifts to the hospital.
Over 200 brand new toys and 300 gift cards were handed out to kids and their families. Santa and his elves also took the time to deliver gifts to kids in their hospital rooms.
“There are children here from literally all over the world and it’s hard for them to spend the holidays away from home," said Santa. “It’s a pleasure to be a part of that. I’m in the happy business, I’m Santa. That’s what I do. So it’s nice to see that happen. I was especially pleased to talk to a couple of the children today and learned they’re going home today."
We spoke to one family whose little girl is in the hospital this Christmas for a bad kidney infection.
“It was great, we're trying to get her happy. She likes being here but she don’t want to be here," said her father, Leroy Goodrich of West Palm Beach.
Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, which also helped organize the event, will be continuing the holiday spirit next week. Each year, firehouses across the county usually sponsor families who have lost their home to a fire or experienced another tragedy and will be making special deliveries on Christmas Day.
