Young entrepreneur, hero, and Cape Kid of the Month, Mairead Studdiford, presents the true meaning of being “Better Than That”
Everyday heroes are hard to come by in this day and age. Childhood heroes are even more rare. However, “Cape Kids” are amongst us in the classroom, at sporting events, and even in our own neighborhoods. They are going the extra mile to make a difference and Wear the Cape/kidkind foundation believes that these wonderfully heroic kids deserve to be recognized. They become known as the Cape Kid of the Month. This month, we proudly honor Ms. Mairead Studdiford as our Cape Kid!
Mairead Studdiford is a bright and inspiring 13-year-old girl from Far Hills, New Jersey. Just three years ago, she founded Bay Head Boutique where the young entrepreneur began selling unique, designer jewelry to the people of the Bay Head, New Jersey community. However, her “go-getter “attitude and business-minded nature are just the foreshadowing qualities behind the true reason Mairead was selected as this month’s Cape Kid.
The founder of Wear the Cape, Leigh Ann Errico, met this young philanthropist while walking by her Bay Head Boutique stand during the summer of 2011, where they struck up a conversation and did business together. Leigh Ann was blown away by Mairead’s vision and ability to start a company and do some good for her community at such a young age.
This amazing, outgoing young lady has worked every summer for the past three years at her “pop-up” store to sell her unique, designer jewelry. She then selflessly donates her profit to various philanthropic foundations. “I consider myself an entrepreneur but I also have a strong sense of giving back to my community” says Mairead when asked to tell us about herself. In the first year of her store, she decided to give the proceeds of Bay Head Boutique to the Audubon Society. The Audubon Society subsequently built heron nests in Mairead’s name along the barrier islands of the Jersey Shore. Following the second successful year of the Boutique, Mairead donated her profits to Restore The Shore to help re-build the Jersey Shore due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. This summer, she plans on donating her proceeds to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to help support its research to cure childhood cancers. Mairead plans on expanding her market to the internet and is currently working on a website for the Bay Head Boutique.
Though the Bay Head Boutique has been Mairead’s most current heroic act, she has been “flying in her Cape” since the third grade. This was when she became the founder of COATS FOR KIDZ at The Peck School in Morristown, where she attends school. COATS FOR KIDZ is a donation outlet for her classmates to drop off their winter coats after they have done their spring cleaning. Mairead then delivers the collected coats to the Morristown Shelter for people in need. COATS FOR KIDZ has now been running for 5 years and has been an overwhelming success. More than 300 coats have been collected and the event has become a tradition at The Peck School every spring for Mairead to host and lead.
We at Wear the Cape are super proud of our newest member of our Cape Kid society. Mairead has graciously agreed to join our team as a member of the Junior Committee for the kidkind foundation and serve as an advisor to the founder and help guide our ongoing agenda of goodness. You can be sure that Mairead will continue to do great things, to choose kind. We could not be more inspired by this fine young lady. Congratulations Mairead.