ORLANDO, Fla. — Being a patient in a hospital can be stressful. But more than that, it can be extremely depressing, especially for children. 

Rollins College senior Cecilia Hernandez is working to make that experience a bit brighter through her nonprofit called Project for Hope.

The charity gives children stuffed animals to help take their minds off whatever they may be going through. 

Hernandez and other students are volunteering during “Acts of Kindness” week to help spread joy throughout the school’s campus.

Giving back is not out of the ordinary for Hernandez. For years now, she’s been pushing her own charity, which encourages young children during their darkest hours. 

“Project for Hope, I started back in 2012, so it’s been about 13 years since I’ve done this project," Hernandez said. "I started it when I was 9. When I was little, I was going in and out of the hospital a whole lot. I had a lot of medical issues, I had an auto-immune problem."

Through Project Hope, Hernandez works with other volunteers to collect stuffed animals and write notes to children who might need some encouragement.

“I realize when people give me a stuffed animal, it’s both something to hold when I’m in the hospital, but it also gives me a lot of hope that somebody out there is hoping for me to get better," Hernandez  said.

"We are writing little letters to the children in the hospital to go along with the stuffed animal donation," she added. "When I first started this project, I actually made individual letters to go with every single stuffed animal."

Christie Versace, a volunteer with Project for Hope, says she has always been inspired by Hernandez's big heart and her passion.

“Watching Cecilia, I get so much pride and joy just being there with her and seeing everything that she has done over the 13 years creating this organization as a child and seeing it get bigger and bigger each year," Versace said.

Last month Hernandez donated 125 stuffed animals and 42 get-well cards to the Ronald McDonald House.

If you know someone who is special and gives back to their community like Hernandez, we would like to hear from you. Visit the Spectrum News 13 website to nominate our next Everyday Hero.