>> IF ONE PERSON’S TRASH IS ANOTHER’S TREASURE, A CAPE CORAL PHONE BOOTH IS A SWAP MEET FOR BOTH BELLICOSE NEWS REPORTER BRITTANY AND YOU FOUND OUT HOW IT’S BRINGING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER WITH SMALL ACTS. IN TONIGHT’S STORY TO SHARE. >> ALONG AN OTHERWISE ORDINARY STRETCH OF CAPE CORAL HIGH. ARE YOU GUYS? >> SO YOU DON’T MIND BEING ON THE NEWS. CARS PULLED OVER FOR A SITE. THAT’S ANYTHING BUT YOU SEE PEOPLE LIKE PULL UP AND THEY ALL PARK OVER HERE. >> AND THEY JUST WAIT. AND THEN THEY COME UP AND THEY WAIT IN LINE. THIS, YOU KNOW, INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER. IT’S IT’S KIND OF COOL. WHAT STARTED AS A TINY BOX OUTSIDE CHRISTINE ADELE FAUCI’S HOME. >> HAS TURNED DEAN TO A ROADSIDE EXCHANGE JOY. ONE DAY MY DAUGHTER WAS ON TIKTOK AND SHE SAW ONE IN ORLANDO. LIKE WE SHOULD GO. AND I WAS LIKE, OK, AND THEN I WAS LIKE, THIS IS LIKE ONE OF MAKER, HONEST LIKE SURE, DO IT. YOU WAS LIKE, YEAH, WHY NOT? THE CONCEPT IS SIMPLE. BRING A DRINK. IT TAKE A DRINK. IT AND SOMEHOW THE SMALLER THE BIGGER 3 ACTION. I HAVE TOWN THE TRINKETS IN MY HOUSE THAT I LOVE THAT I WILL SINCE HIGH SCHOOLS AND I WILL EVER GET RID OF IT TURNS OUT ONE PERSON’S JUNK DRAWER IS ANOTHER PERSON’S JACKPOT. IT COULD BE A COLLECTOR’S TOY. IT CAN BE A NON COLLECTORS TOY. OBVIOUSLY A MCDONALD’S TOY. THAT’S WHAT I SEE IT WE GOT A TACO BELL SAUCE. YEAH. HAND WHILE THE TRADES THEMSELVES MAY BE TINY, THE TURNOUT ISN’T WHAT CHRISTINE EXPECTED TO MAY BE ATTRACTED CARRY US NEIGHBORS QUICKLY BECAME MORE JOY OF JUST SEEING KIDS COME UP AND JUST BEING HAPPY, THOUGH, LIKE WHATEVER THEY GET, THEY HAPPY >> BECAUSE IN A WORLD WHERE MOST THINGS ARE EXPENSIVE HAPPINESS DOESN’T COST YOU IN
Drivers keep stopping along this Cape Coral road for a tiny box filled with surprises
Updated: 6:37 PM EDT May 15, 2026
Along an otherwise ordinary stretch of Cape Coral, cars pull over for a sight that is anything but typical. “You see, people pull up and they all park over here. They just wait. They wait in line and all interact with each other. It’s kind of cool,” said Kristina Delfosse.What started as a tiny box outside of Delfosse’s home has turned into a roadside exchange of joy. “One day, my daughter was on TikTok, and she saw one in Orlando, and she’s like, ‘We, why don’t we make our own?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure, you know, why not?'” said Delfosse.The concept is simple: bring a trinket, take a trinket. And somehow, the smaller the toy, the bigger the reaction. “I have tons of trinkets in my house that I love that I’ve had since high school, and I won’t ever get rid of them,” said Delfosse. It turns out that one person’s junk drawer is another person’s jackpot.”It could be a collector’s toy, obviously a McDonald’s toy,” said Delfosse. “That’s what I see it as. Sometimes, we’ve even gotten a Taco Bell sauce.”While the trades themselves may be tiny, the turnout is not.What Delfosse expected to maybe attract a few curious neighbors quickly became more. “The joy of just seeing kids come up and just being happy,” said Delfosse.In a world where most things feel expensive, here, happiness does not cost you.Delfosse is teaming up with Fort Myers cafe Arts & Eats off McGregor Boulevard to put a trinket trade box outside the cafe.DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment, and original programming on your TV.
CAPE CORAL, Fla. —
Along an otherwise ordinary stretch of Cape Coral, cars pull over for a sight that is anything but typical.
“You see, people pull up and they all park over here. They just wait. They wait in line and all interact with each other. It’s kind of cool,” said Kristina Delfosse.
What started as a tiny box outside of Delfosse’s home has turned into a roadside exchange of joy.
“One day, my daughter was on TikTok, and she saw one in Orlando, and she’s like, ‘We, why don’t we make our own?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure, you know, why not?'” said Delfosse.
The concept is simple: bring a trinket, take a trinket. And somehow, the smaller the toy, the bigger the reaction.
“I have tons of trinkets in my house that I love that I’ve had since high school, and I won’t ever get rid of them,” said Delfosse.
It turns out that one person’s junk drawer is another person’s jackpot.
“It could be a collector’s toy, obviously a McDonald’s toy,” said Delfosse. “That’s what I see it as. Sometimes, we’ve even gotten a Taco Bell sauce.”
While the trades themselves may be tiny, the turnout is not.
What Delfosse expected to maybe attract a few curious neighbors quickly became more.
“The joy of just seeing kids come up and just being happy,” said Delfosse.
In a world where most things feel expensive, here, happiness does not cost you.
Delfosse is teaming up with Fort Myers cafe Arts & Eats off McGregor Boulevard to put a trinket trade box outside the cafe.
DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment, and original programming on your TV.