“As parents, we all want our children to grow up to be responsible citizens and good people. We want them to learn to feel, think and act with respect for themselves and for other people. We want them to pursue their own well being, while also being considerate of the needs and feelings of others. We want them, in short, to develop strong character.”  Source: U.S. Department of Education pamphlet, “Helping Your Child Become a Responsible Citizen”

This week, the kidkind foundation held its inaugural charitable fundraising event, and oh what an event it was, with great energy and spirit shared by all! What a way to get the holidays warmed up and rocking.

All attendees/donors – over 70 people – “wore their capes” and brought homemade cookies and other food and specialty good donations for our military troops. Our troops are in need of so much support and supplies, and we wanted to show them our appreciation for what they do for us every day. We are preparing a GIANT shipment to send off to Afghanistan today! The children who attended our event took the time to write heartwarming letters and to draw pictures showing their gratitude to the soldiers who fight for our freedom.

We raised thousands of dollars that we will use to publish our work–in-progress children’s picture book on character and kindness. The master plan is to donate the book to underprivileged kids across the country to help shape behavior and mindsets from an early age (who doesn’t remember an impactful book from childhood?!). We’d love to hear other ideas from you on the best way to put the funds to good use.

At the event, our fun Wear the Cape clothes and gear were for sale, including several new products like the cape to the left. The merchandise was certainly flying off the shelves, as they say.

It was beyond encouraging to see people rallying around the mission to build good character and kindness in children by showing them how to be everyday heroes. Folks seem to be loving Wear the Cape’s Hero Tags, fastened on all merchandise, with teachable moments that spark conversations about building good character. When I spoke to our guests about what we are trying to achieve with kidkind, and what seems to be eroding in our society that we want to bring back stronger than ever, there was not a dry eye in the room (including mine!). Seeing that people share our hopes for society was definitely motivation to “keep on truckin’” to realize the vision.

Thanks to all of our treasured kidkind supporters, located in good ole’ NJ, who took the time to support us on Tuesday night. Your enthusiasm and zest for this mission is what keeps us focused on moving the ball down the field and encouraged for what the future holds for our cause.

Remember: Kindness is free. So go forward and spread some kind during this magical time of year.