Letter from Leigh Ann: Gratitude from the kidkind foundation

December 31, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

Washington Irving once said,

“The holidays are the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall and the genial flame of charity in the heart.“

How fitting to evoke warmth and passion by relating hospitality and charity to fire! A year-round flame drives us at kidkind to help young people understand the immeasurable value of good character and kindness. To all the big-hearted people who have embraced our cause, supporting us over the past year: We are so grateful.

The kidkind foundation worked very hard this year, and we are so proud of the tracks that we made! In 2014, we utilized multiple channels to reach families with life-enriching educational materials, experiences and inspiration:

Cape Code Project and Dr. Brown: Wear the Cape & the kidkind foundation enlisted character education expert Philip Brown, PhD to develop resources that were provided to parents, educators and mentors for free to teach children virtues and show them how to handle challenges like bullying. As part of this effort, Dr. Brown authored the Cape Code Project, a three-part series that offers guidance on creating a family code of conduct to raise Cape Kids who make good choices and choose kindness as their way to interact with the world. Helping countless families, the invaluable information from Dr. Brown was distributed far and wide via blogs, press releases and the media.
5K Race for Kidkind: In May, we held our first 5K Fundraiser, complete with a Kids’ 100-Yard Dash and Family Festival. Well over 100+ runners participated, and 50 everyday heroes came out to volunteer. Thanks to our sponsors and participants, we raised over $10,000 to support kidkind’s mission.

Hero Scholarship: The kidkind foundation created a scholarship for college-bound seniors who exemplify what it means to be an everyday hero by restoring kindness and civility in society. Frank Piacenti of West Morris Mendham High School was the first winner of a $2,500 scholarship!

Cape Kids: Throughout the year, the kidkind foundation recognized many Cape Kids. To create positive role models and deliver inspiration for new acts of kindness from others, we shared their amazing stories on our website.

Verizon FiOS1 News: “Push Pause”, a television program from Verizon FiOS1 News, featured Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation with a special focus on our Junior Board. In addition to profiling Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation, the news outlet broadcasted a discussion among Wear the Cape’s young leaders about the challenges and the opportunities surrounding bullying. We hope viewers gained as much insight from tuning in as we did! [WATCH]
Holiday Fundraiser: We held a charitable event to show our youth the importance of philanthropy and to give back to the community. The fundraiser brought $7,000 for kidkind to continue its mission in 2015! In addition, thousands of dollars in supplies were collected for our troops and hundreds of Lego and Frozen toys were gathered to be donated to orphans at the NJ Children’s Shelter in Trenton, NJ.

I’d like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation for the many friends and businesses who are helping Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation continue its momentum behind promoting kindness and good character in children. Thank you so much for the generosity of your time and your donations. Seeing others join the movement and lend their support to this important cause is nothing short of beautiful.

COMING IN 2015 after much demand: a school assembly!

All the best to you and yours in kindness,
Leigh Ann

Kidkind Foundation Giving BIG on #GivingTuesday

December 3, 2014December 3, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

Holiday cheer in full effect: Tonight marked Wear the Cape’s second annual kidkind foundation holiday extravaganza! A night focused on philanthropy, the event took place on none other than #GivingTuesday. Giving Tuesday, for those who may not be aware, is a global day that is dedicated to giving back; it’s a chance to unite and celebrate generosity.

As founder of Wear the Cape and the kidkind foundation, I opened up my home in Warren, NJ for the sake of promoting among our children that it is “Cool to Be Kind”. Together, with 80 fine women as guests, about 20 Cape Kids in action, and many vendors who donated their time and their specialties, the night was a resounding success, raising $7K for kidkind to use in 2015 to continue its mission. In addition, the fundraiser collected thousands of dollars in supplies for our troops – the ultimate heroes who fight for our freedom – and gathered hundreds of beautifully-wrapped Lego and Frozen toys to be donated to orphans at the NJ Children’s Shelter in Trenton, NJ.

Cape Kids, who have each contributed to society in their own unique ways, were also celebrated. They exemplify what we’ve learned from Wear the Cape’s wise guru Dr. Philip Brown, PhD – that kids who learn and practice the act of volunteering for their community reap all kinds of benefits, including building stellar character. Check out our recent list, “Top 10 Reasons to Encourage Your Kids to Volunteer,” for more.

To make the night even more interesting, there was a turbo-charged Holiday Cookie Exchange so that all the ladies could arrive with one type of cookie and depart with their choices from 80 different kinds. Friendly competition got fiercely fun as attendees dueled for the coveted honors of best looking and most delicious cookies in the house!

Local organizations popped in to make holiday shopping a little less stressful for all. The big-hearted vendors “wore the cape” in their own right – Bayhead Boutique, Petite Lily, Christina’s Dresses, and MySuperFoods – donating a percent of proceeds to the kidkind foundation. And, of course, Wear the Cape gear and clothes – every item complete with a Hero Tag that coaches kids on what to do when challenging life scenarios arise – were for sale and flying off the shelves (shop for Wear the Cape goodies for yourself and your loved ones HERE).

Quoting Plato in my remarks for the night, I encouraged:

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

That about sums up the night – Wearing the Cape in action! Because, as my mom always used to say, kindness is free.

Choose kind,
Leigh Ann

Lock Lessons from Loss in Your Heart

November 25, 2014November 25, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

My CRAZY Uncle Pete died this past week and was laid to rest. He really was nuts, but I mean that in a wholeheartedly loving way. He always made people laugh and never took life too seriously. How I wish we could have one more conversation with Uncle Pete, one more laugh, one more boat ride on a quiet lake to go fishing, one more Christmas Eve tradition– hootin’ and hollerin’ over our whacky Secret Santa game. We will all miss him so much.

As my Aunt said to me over the weekend, “Life is for the living.” So why would I waste blog space to selfishly talk about my sadness and seek sympathy for my family? Well, because perhaps there are rich lessons veiled in my reflection that we can impart to our children as we struggle with grief (sprinkled with regret) from losing a loved one.

I felt like the one silver lining in losing Crazy Uncle Pete was it rebooted me big time on what matters with our “lives for the living” and with our next generation in this world:

Family and extended family really matter – and taking the time to see each other really does give us strength. Family is “going home” to reconnect with our roots. Are we doing enough to let our children know about their heritage?

Friendship is pure gold. A friend who comforts you in your dark storm is a friend to treasure. Are we doing what we can to be that friend to those who are struggling? We tend to be super supportive during loss, funerals – we are good friends, good daughters, good sisters, good cousins….but what can we do every day to have that same drive to support and show kindness to our friends?

There are so many random acts of kindness swirling around us during a grief-stricken time…so many people who do favors without the hunt for a gain. I ask myself, why can’t we all be in this mode as a common practice? And how would that change the landscape of our culture? Fun to dream of that better way.

At times of grief and loss, there is so much civility, such good manners, exhibited in abundance. How can we keep that vibe alive in our society on happy occasions, too, and on hurried weekdays when we are all out there dashing through the race of life?

When we suffer loss, many of us take stock in how we are spending our time each day, assessing what is and is not serving us well. Is there a way we can do self-regulation more regularly? Our most cherished possessions are the memories we’ve made with our dear friends, our family, and especially our children during their fragile and magical formative years.

So, my dear Uncle Pete: May you rest in peace. And thank you, Uncle, for the lessons this week; they are locked in my heart just like the memory of that day, long ago, floating in a little boat on Cape Cod.

Choose Kind,
Leigh Ann