Cape Kid Spreading the Love AND Love of the Game

August 2, 2015August 4, 2015 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

Cape Kid: Teen Edition

I’ve found living proof (again) that it’s cool to be kind…

Meet Evan Druskin. He’s our newest Cape Kid and a 16-year-old who clearly embodies Wear the Cape’s heroic values. A soon-to-be high school junior, Evan plays baseball at Gill St. Bernards School in Gladstone, NJ, AND he’s a kind kid who helps others.

What started out as a mitzvah project became so much more. For the past decade, this everyday hero has been collecting baseball and softball equipment for underprivileged youth via the PITCH IN FOR BASEBALL organization. Evan’s good deeds are instructive: he combined his passion for helping people with his love of the game of baseball. Evan shared,

“During a project for my religious studies, I visited the [PITCH IN FOR BASEBALL] warehouse operation, and I was so impressed with everything that I saw that I wanted to stay involved beyond my project.”

Evan gathers used sports equipment through a school-wide drive he runs at the Gill St. Bernards upper, middle, and lower schools, as well as through Zoned Baseball Academy, a baseball training facility in Bridgewater, NJ.

Over the years, Evan has been one of the highest producing providers to PITCH IN FOR BASEBALL, having gathered and donated over 500 pieces of equipment. This equipment, once collected, is shipped worldwide to applicants who are in need, from the corners of America to the reaches of Africa. Evan explained that, for children living in volatile nations—including many in the Middle East—playing a sport such as baseball or softball can serve as a form of escape and as a coping mechanism for dealing with difficult situations.

When I interviewed Evan this summer, I was amazed at how focused and productive he is at a young age. While many his age do not hold regular summer jobs, we had to coordinate the interview around his busy schedule of working at Teknicks, an agency in Bayhead, NJ where he’s learning the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). A quick study, Evan said he did not know much about SEO when he started out this summer but now he feels very comfortable with this burgeoning field. I love how passionate this Cape Kid becomes about everything in his life.

When I went to interview Evan, I brought my two oldest children Tommy and Samantha to help give Evan a goody bag of Cape products. And a testament to the fact that everyone—young and old—has the power to make an impact and lead by example, my kids still bring up Evan’s name and gush about his good deeds.

Evan punctuated our interview by words that should be inspiration to us all,

“I am able to change people’s lives by putting my time and energy toward giving back. I am truly helping people because I volunteer.”

(To read the “Top 10 Reasons to Encourage Your Kids to Volunteer”, according to Wear the Cape’s resident character education expert Dr. Brown, click here.)

A Cape Kid in action and a great role model, indeed! Evan, we thank you for wearing the cape!

To learn more about the PITCH IN FOR BASEBALL organization or to make a donation of your own equipment, contact Evan: evandruskin1 at aol dot com.

If you know of a young person whose heroic character shines and should be a Cape Kid—whether 2 years old or 22 years old—please send me an email: leighann at wearthecapekids dot com. We’d love to highlight his or her efforts to create a better, kinder world!

Choose kind,
Leigh Ann

To make a donation to the kidkind foundation, a registered 501 (c)(3) charity, click here, or send a check payable to the kidkind foundation to:

kidkind foundation
16 Mt Bethel Road, Suite 191
Warren, NJ 07059

What made the inaugural 5K race for kidkind a success?

May 6, 2014July 19, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

The inaugural 5K race for kidkind held this past Saturday was an all-around success, filled with big smiles and big hearts. When runners, volunteers and families arrived at the Warren, NJ Municipal fields, they were greeted by one of the first beautiful days of spring after a grueling New Jersey winter. It was the perfect setting as we joined together to raise money for kids in need while showing the kids we love the power of kindness and character.

The mud on the trails did not stop the 117 runners who came out to support the kidkind foundation, Teens Connecting with Teens and the Warren Recreation Commission’s Summer Camp Scholarship Fund. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and participants, the event raised over $10,000, meeting our goal! We’d like to thank Gotta Dance for not only being the race for kidkind’s lead sponsor, but also for delivering one of the day’s highlights: dedicated dancers with inspiring routines.

Beyond monetary donations, a big predictor of good character is the giving of ourselves in support of our communities, as we all know. We were so fortunate to have about 50 heroic volunteers who were so generous with their efforts, committed to the success of the fundraiser. The Contender Cheer team was also so giving of their time and talents, posting up at the race’s finish line to encourage runners as they sweated to earn the last mile. This amazing group of young ladies has been supportive of Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation since our launch last fall, and we are so grateful to them for their unrelenting championing of our mission.

As a whole, the event embodied what Wear the Cape is all about: bringing out the best in others, bringing to light the positive in our world, and bringing about a change in our society.

The outpouring of support from local businesses, volunteers, and the town of Warren was not just a means to an end, but an exercise of camaraderie that strengthened our community, reminding us all that we’re in this together and together we can make a BIG impact.

Recognizing Cape Kid Sami Saunders and highlighting the passion of Cape Kid Olivia Perlmutter, founder of Teens Connecting with Teens, has not only helped balance out all the negative news we hear involving our youth, but these young ladies’ stories have served to inspire others to also be courageous, to find ways to help those in need, and to be Better Than That—above bad choices that hurt themselves and others.

Lastly, little ones seeing these role models and the grown-ups they look up to elevating kindness and virtue as cool and worthy of respect helped spark change in kids’ perspectives and, it is our hope, the way they interact with the world.

Many commented that optimism and goodwill radiated throughout the day at the 5K race for kidkind and Family Festival – we agree, so MISSION ACCOMPLISHED…with the help of all of you!

Choose kind,
Leigh Ann

“One Small Step, Countless Big Rewards” by Cape Kid Olivia Perlmutter

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

Today’s guest blog comes from “Cape Kid of the Month” Olivia Perlmutter, a true everyday hero who has our respect and admiration. Olivia founded Teens Connecting with Teens to bring students together to help youth with special needs (read on for more details!). We look forward to honoring Olivia at our upcoming 5K race for kidkind and Family Festival and sharing a portion of proceeds to support her in expanding the reach of her organization.

And now…take it away, Olivia!

“One Small Step, Countless Big Rewards”

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”― Mahatma Gandhi

I have heard many times that one small action can lead to a thousand new opportunities, but I never really believed that until my freshman year of high school when I decided to take one small step. That small step was really just a simple idea that I had to help my twin sister reconnect with the friends that she had made in the Chatham public school system. My sister has down syndrome and had been in public school until 5th grade―“mainstreamed”, they called it―but eventually she transferred to a special needs school in Chatham called ECLC.

My sister loves ECLC, but she also loves hanging out with her “old friends” from elementary school. As an incoming freshman, I recognized that there was no contact between students at my high school and the ECLC school, even though they were in the same town. I decided that I would start a club at the high school to create opportunities for social interactions with the students at ECLC.

Entering high school as a timid freshman was terrifying and having to organize my first club meeting and speak in front of a large group of people was the last thing I wanted to do. However, I found the strength to overcome my fear, because I recognized that, like my sister, all of the students at ECLC could benefit from this program.

My sister and about 30 other ECLC students now live for our activity nights! Not only have experiences with the club changed so many others, but they have changed me, as well. I remember as a freshman thinking to myself that I would never run for class office; it seemed TERRIFYING. But after I saw how one small action of starting a club impacted so many people in a positive way, I figured why not! I was voted sophomore class vice president!

Another big thing that came as a result of my small step was that I was selected to attend a leadership conference. Only one or two sophomores are chosen each year from our high school, and I received the honor in part because of all the work I had done to build the club. The leadership conference was a truly life-changing experience and, just recently, I was accepted as a junior counselor to work at the leadership conference this summer.

My attitude towards trying new things has been completely transformed over the past three years. I am currently a junior in high school and looking for new ways to expand my club and challenge myself with new and exciting opportunities! I’m thankful that Wear the Cape is helping me to further my efforts and touch more lives.