Land O' Lakes Youngster Honored With Hero Award

A 6-year-old Land O' Lakes girl was among the young heroes recognized by St. Joseph's Children's Hospital during the 16th annual Kids Are Heroes awards ceremony March 27.

Campbell McElaney of Land O' Lakes received a second-place award in the 5- to 8-year-old category.

Since she shares her name with a brand of soup, each year for her birthday the little girl asks guests to bring cans of Campbell's soup instead of presents, which she then donates to a community food bank to help feed families in need.

Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos presented the award to the little girl at the ceremony at the Tampa Bay Time Forum.

A record number of boys and girls age 5 to 18 from Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties were recognized during the 16th annual ceremony. The hospital received 170 nominations for the award. 

In January, former Tampa Bay Lightning team captain Dave Andreychuk and ThunderBug helped hospitalized kids at St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital choose the winners in three age categories.

At the awards ceremony, each child received a trophy and gifts.

Since 1996, St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital has recognized more than 1,400 children who have performed heroic deeds or displayed acts of selflessness and good citizenship.