Airport Experience® News -Customer Service Issue 2026

BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF

BAGGAGE HANDLING, WITH A TWIST TPA Donates Unclaimed Luggage To Children In Foster Care

BY SARAH BELING

Left: After seeking to reunite unclaimed luggage with its owners, TPA donates what’s left behind to various community organizations. The bags themselves are given to an organization benefiting children in foster care.

While the airport makes efforts to reunite unclaimed luggage and other belongings with their owners, they do need to regularly make room for additional items in the Lost and Found department, notes Boos. “When items go unclaimed and no owner can be located, TPA works to donate as many items as possible to community partners after 30 days,” adds Zimmer, adding that in addition to luggage, the airport sends clothing, blankets, pillows, eyeglasses, unused toiletry items and cell phones to community partners including the Lions Club of Tampa Bay community service organization, the Pet Resource Center animal shelter, The Spring of Tampa Bay domestic violence shelter and service provider, and Cell Phones for Soldiers, an organization that provides mobile phones to low-income and unhoused veterans. “Serving the greater good of the Tampa Bay community is one of our five core values,” says Zimmer. “Our team is incredibly proud to support the Duffels of Dignity program by matching bags that might otherwise go unused with children who simply need a bag of their own to keep their belongings safe. We do not have the space to keep unclaimed bags indefinitely, so ensuring they are put to good use instead of ending up in a landfill is a win-win for both the airport and our community.”

cores of unclaimed luggage are finding worthy new homes thanks to Tampa International Airport’s (TPA) participation in a program designed to support children in need. TPA’s involvement started last year, but the Hillsborough County Children’s Services-led Duffels of Dignity program was launched in October 2022. It serves to provide children escaping domestic violence, staying in shelters or entering foster care with new and gently used bags for their belongings – a compassionate departure from the trash bags commonly distributed to those navigating emergency support services. Since its founding four years ago, Duffels of Dignity has collected more than 2,000 bags through individual donations and S

partnerships with organizations like TPA. A member of the airport’s Lost and Found team learned about the program and connected Hillsborough County Children’s Services Administrative Services Coordinator Craig Jewesak with Shannon Boos, TPA’s senior manager of guest experience, to begin their partnership, says Beau Zimmer, communications manager at TPA. Thus far, TPA has donated a total of 357 pieces of luggage to local children, with 238 pieces collected this year alone. “For children entering foster care, a duffel bag may seem like a small thing, but it can make a tremendous difference,” says Boos. “It gives them a safe, dignified way to carry their personal belongings during what is often one of the most difficult times in their lives.”

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AX NEWS OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2026