Tampa Airport Gives Away 119 Unclaimed Bags To Help Foster Children

Staff at Tampa International Airport passed along 119 forgotten bags to the Duffels of Dignity program last month. The bags will give kids in care a better way to move their things than plastic sacks.

"When a child is removed from a home, most of the times they leave very quickly, they're removed abruptly, and their personal items, their belongings are many times just taken in a trash bag," Craig Jewesak, administrative service coordinator with Hillsborough County Children's Services, said per FOX 13 News.

Each year, workers at the airport's Lost and Found sort through 30,000 left-behind items. If no one claims something after a month, it goes to local groups that help others. Dortresia Johnson, who runs guest services, said her team works hard to find the owners first. "We're not trying to hold your items here, so, if your items are unclaimed, it still has a meaningful purpose," Johnson said.

The county started Duffels of Dignity a while back. Since then, they've picked up almost 3,000 bags for kids who need them. Right now, about 2,000 young people live in county care.

The whole thing started with a simple question at home. "It started with our family getting some new luggage for a trip, and the question came up with 'what do we do with the old stuff?'" Jewesak said.

Since the airport runs on public money, officials had to check all the rules before they could give away the bags. Now they also send unclaimed stuff to The Spring of Tampa Bay and the Pet Resource Center.

Word spread fast, and locals jumped in to help. Two women, Sarah King and Sara Shevel, brought backpacks filled with basic supplies to Children's Services. Shevel put it simply: "Children should have dignity. All children should."

Want to pitch in? Check the county's website to learn how you can give to the Duffels of Dignity program.