Spreading Kindness and Cheer throughout the Past Year

December 20, 2018December 20, 2018 twhimsLeave a comment

As this year comes to an end, we would like to pause and celebrate the seeds of kindness that were sown over the past 12 months. Wear the Cape is incredibly proud of the work its team has done to help spread goodwill throughout our communities, and hope you feel inspired to continue doingthe same.

This past year, Wear the Cape brought its assembly program to over 2,000 children! We’ve now reached over 50 elementary schools, recreation departments and clubs throughout the country. The Hero Strategies that we teachare being used to build positive relationships between students, teachers, parents, and coaches. We could not be prouder and more humbled by the impact this program has had on participants – students and teachers alike.

In fact, due to the heartening feedback we’ve received, Wear the Cape is pressing on with the creation of a middle school program, which will further extend our mission of teaching kids that IT’S COOL TO BE KIND by being BETTER THAN THAT™.

Helping others is what we do best at Wear the Cape, and this year we decided to expand our efforts through the creation of THE LUNCHBOX MOVEMENT. The Erricochildren, who act as Cape Kid ambassadors, created a program to help feed underprivileged children during the summer months, when they do not have access to school lunches.

Thanks to their hard work and outreach, they received donations from local businesses, such as Burger King, Costco, Stop and Shop, Acme, and ShopRite, as well as a donation of reusable lunchboxes from kidkind foundation. These lunchboxes were filled with nourishing food, as well as handwritten notes of encouragement, and delivered by the Errico children and other Cape Kid ambassadors to Team Walker Summer Camp in Jersey City.

Cape Kids even gave an interactive presentation on nutrition and etiquette to the campers before they enjoyed their meal. It was a joy-filled day for all, one that Wear the Cape hopes to relive again next year. Please email leighann@wearthecapekids.com if you know of a camp or organization that is in need of summer lunches.

This year, during National Volunteer Month, Wear the Cape’s Cape Kid ambassadors also lent a hand at Bounce Factory in Warren, New Jersey, during their Gentle Bounce session. Beautiful friendships were formed, as Cape Kidsassisted children with special needs in their jump session. We’re excited that Wear the Cape will be offering children more volunteer experiences throughout the new year to continue teaching the importance of giving back to others!

Additionally, Wear the Cape had several firsts this past year. For one, our organization was invited to present a lesson on kindness and heroism, as part of Take Your Child to Work Day at Willis Towers Watson in Short Hills, New Jersey. We were thrilled to be a part of this very special day, while spreading the word that it’s COOL TO BE KIND.

Additionally, we received countless calls and emails this past year from people throughout the country sharing how they learned of Wear the Cape and how the organization’s educational resources have helped them and their children(feedback is one of our greatest rewards).

One of the most surprising calls came from the NJ Devils hockey team. They heard about the work Wear the Cape isdoing to spread kindness and the positive impact our assembly is having in many communities. They were so impressed with our program that they invited Wear the Cape to present at a NJ Devils game next year. Wow!

We thank YOU for helping to spread kindness in your community and beyond, through support of Wear the Cape and your independent endeavors. If you would like to gift an assembly or IT’S GOOD TO BE KIND books to an underprivileged school, donate to THE LUNCHBOX MOVEMENT, or purchase our merchandise, which donates 10% of profits to kidkind foundation, please visit https://cape.myshopify.com/products/donate-to-wear-the-cape-kids. All donations to the kidkind foundation, a registered 501 (c)(3) charity, are tax-deductible.

Wishing you many blessings throughout the new year!

In kindness,

Leigh Ann Errico

The Launch of The Lunchbox Movement: Filling Bellies AND Hearts

July 26, 2018July 26, 2018 twhimsLeave a comment

“Wealth is not to feed our egos,
But to feed the hungry and to help people help themselves.”
-Andrew Carnegie

This summer 2018, The Lunchbox Movement launched, delivering lunchboxes filled with love to the children participating in Team Walker in Jersey City (Team Walker is a summer camp whose mission is to “improve the quality of life for the children of Jersey City”).

Across the country, about 30 million children receive free or reduced lunch every school day through the National School Lunch Program. Unfortunately, during summer vacation, many go without lunch—including while attending summer camp.

When the children of Wear the Cape and kidkind foundation Founder Leigh Ann Errico learned of hungry bellies at Team Walker’s camp, they immediately stepped up and created The Lunchbox Movement to help. The partnership with Team Walker was made possible by Board Member Dianne Jacobs.

The Errico children, with assistance from their mom and volunteers, called local stores to request food and monetary donations in order to create and fill reusable lunchboxes—donated by kidkind foundation—with a nutritious lunch and snacks. These lunchboxes not only fed the bellies of Team Walker campers, but also their hearts; the Errico children wrote the reminder that “It’s cool to be kind” by hand and placed them in every child’s lunchbox.

Filling the lunchboxes was a group effort. The Errico children, along with other Cape Kids, spent countless hours of their summer vacation packing the lunchboxes, all while giggling, singing, dancing, and having a blast. “It’s fun to help others!” exclaimed Charlotte Errico, age 8 and a rising third grader.

Thanks to the many donations from local merchants (see donor list below),The Lunchbox Movement was able to fill lunchboxes with bagels, granola bars, waters, juice boxes, fruit snacks, apples, bananas, and cookies. There was such a bounty generously provided by our donor partners that kidkind foundation was able to pack extra foods, so that the campers of Team Walker would have snacks to nourish them in the afternoon, as well as to take home and eat when hungry.

Along with delicious lunches, kidkind foundation donated our children’s book, It’s Good To Be Kind, written by Lauren DuBois Rosemond, a story about sharing kindness in a special way. Click Here to purchase a copy.

We are incredibly grateful to all who donated to The Lunchbox Movement:

Burger King (Gillette, NJ): Juice boxes
Kings (Gillette, NJ): $50 gift card
Costco (Bridgewater, NJ): $25 gift card
Shoprite (Stirling, NJ): $25 gift card
Costco (East Hanover, NJ): $25 gift card
BJs (Linden, NJ): $25 gift card
Acme (Warren, NJ): Napkins, water bottles, granola bars, fruit snacks, juice boxes
Stop and Shop (Watchung, NJ): Bagels, butter, resealable plastic bags, cookies, apples, bananas

“It is heartwarming and meaningful to see children focused on giving and serving others in need,” stated Leigh Ann Errico, Founder and CEO of Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation.“Summer is about fun and making memories for many, but we need to help our children understand that not all people are so fortunate to enjoy the season, carefree. It’s our job to show kids how to see beyond their own realities and step away from their worlds in order to tap into having compassion for others.”

The kidkind foundation is humbled and grateful for the community support that made the first undertaking of The Lunchbox Movement possible. We look forward to continuing and expanding these valued partnerships in the future!

Please email leighann@wearthcapekids.com to donate or to nominate an organization that is in need of help from The Lunchbox Movement.

Looking Back with Great Appreciation, Looking Forward with Great Expectation

December 29, 2017December 29, 2017 twhimsLeave a comment

“Goodness is about character – integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.” – Dennis Prager

This past year reinforced that teaching our children the lesson above makes a real difference. Showing goodness in how we treat others changes the world, one interaction at a time. At Wear the Cape, we call this being BETTER THAN THAT™, or embodying heroism by standing up for what is right and choosing kindness over bullying.

We received countless messages from parents, teachers, and children in 2017 sharing how Wear the Cape has changed their lives, or the lives of those around them, for the better. One parent, in tears, relayed her son’s story. For months his classmates bullied him, but he didn’t tell anyone for fear that it would get worse. After watching Wear the Cape’s Hero Assembly, this first grader gained the skills and confidence needed to stand up to those tormenting him. He also made the choice to tell his parents, teachers, and guidance counselor, who all worked together to help resolve the situation.

This past year, the number of Hero Assemblies that Wear the Cape has brought to schools throughout New Jersey climbed to 41. Students as far as Sarasota, Florida learned how to STOP and THINK whether their decisions will HELP or HURT – and the assembly was even featured on Suncoast News! Sycamore Drive Early Education Childhood Center in Hazlet, New Jersey was so impressed with Wear the Cape’s assembly that they created a presentation based on the program for their November Board of Education Meeting. Wow! What an honor.

In 2017, Wear the Cape was also thrilled to create and publish its first children’s book titled, It’s Good To Be Kingd, written by Lauren DuBois Rosemond and illustrated by Marco Cutrone. Many bloggers praised the book, and many a home and classroom have enjoyed hearing the story of Leonard the Lion—admired by all other animals as King of the Jungle—who wears a red cape and uses his power and status to make a positive impact on those around him..

Additionally, children in Paterson, Bound Brook, and Camden are reading It’s Good To Be Kingd in their classrooms, as Wear the Cape’s kidkind Foundation gifted books to underprivileged areas as part of its initiative to donate 1,000 books to Kindergarten classrooms across the nation. It’s Good to Be Kingd can be purchased on Amazon.com or Wear the Cape’s website, where copies can also be donated.

What’s more, Wear the Cape introduced two new Hero Items this fall: the “Don’t Bottle Up Your Love” Thermos and our Kindness Spinner. Both can be purchased in our online shop!

At Wear the Cape’s annual holiday fundraiser, 30 elementary, middle, and high school-aged kids volunteered their time and talents to make the night a huge success. Children greeted guests with big smiles and even bigger hearts, as guests brought gifts for orphaned children at the NJ Children’s Home Society and donations for our troops overseas, which will be shipped via Operation Cares NJ.

Wear the Cape has its sights set on another giant goodness-making initiative in 2018. On the heels of great success with our elementary level presentation, we will be developing an assembly for middle school students. Be on the lookout for the big reveal this spring!

Restoring the power of kindness and heroic character is our mission at Wear the Cape…and words can’t describe how it feels to hear that our mission is being accomplished. Our team is beyond grateful for all you have done to show our youth that they can be heroes every day and to spread kindness throughout our communities. Love, after all, is the only way to win against hate.

Let’s fill the world with warmth this holiday season! And we wish you a happy, healthy, heroic 2018!

In kindness,

Leigh Ann Errico