Cape Kid of the Month: Sami Saunders

February 13, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

Cape Kid
/kāp/ /kid/
noun

1. A young person who embodies what it means to Wear the Cape and be Better Than That.
2. A youth who chooses to be an everyday hero by doing what’s right, not what’s easy.

We’re excited for the start of something good – and new! From here on out, we’ll be spotlighting a Cape Kid every month. Today we have the privilege of recognizing stand-out Sami Saunders, a 14-year old girl from Warren Township, New Jersey, for her heroic actions this past summer.

As a Camp Pontiac cabin in upstate New York nearly burned to the ground with 27 campers sleeping soundly inside, Sami demonstrated cool-headedness and quick thinking far beyond her years in the midst of a life-threatening emergency. When Sami woke up and noticed that her fan had turned off, she looked up to find the horrifying sight of flames engulfing the ceiling and wall of her cabin. Sami took action. She wisely realized that there was not enough time to rouse her camp counselor and took matters into her own hands, alerting her fellow campers of the emergency – a decision that saved the lives of 26 young girls. It was just a few short moments after the campers evacuated that the roof of the cabin collapsed upon the abandoned bunks. David Proper, chief of the Copake Fire Department, stated that it was a “miracle that no one was injured,” and praised Sami’s ability to stay calm in the face of danger and act for the benefit of others.

Fellow campers and their families have shown Sami great thanks and recognition for her actions that night, yet Sami has once again shown her maturity—this time through her humility—by playing it up to chance: “It’s kind of weird having people come up to me, thanking me and everything, but I really just woke up and saw it.”

A blessing it was that Sami woke up in time to act. But her actions also serve as a perfect example of what it means to be a hero. Doing what she did amidst a level of danger typically only seen in movies speaks volumes of Sami’s character – being a hero isn’t only about doing good for others when the time is right or when it’s easy to lend a hand.

Sami’s actions, while providing an immeasurable benefit to the lives of her cabin mates and their loved ones, can also make an impression on ours. They serve as a profound reminder that you’ll never know when a situation may arise for you to step up, Wear the Cape, and be a hero. But we don’t have to wait for a fire; every day you can ask yourself: what can I do TODAY to be a hero, however big or small?

Your maturity and selflessness are inspiring, Sami! May we all Wear the Cape, just like you.

Please send your suggestions for “Cape Kid of the Month” to leighann@wearthecapekids.com.

Grace Under Fire

February 5, 2014 Leigh Ann ErricoLeave a comment

Our goal was to win, to win a Super Bowl, but also to win in the right way, to be role models to our community, to represent Indianapolis, the state of Indiana and the National Football League. – Tony Dungy

Sunday night was religion for so many households in our country. One of the biggest nights of the year, Super Bowl Sunday.

In our house, for whatever reason, we were rooting for the Broncos and Peyton Manning. He is one of the all-time greats and even earned himself the coveted NFL Most Valuable Player for 2013. My little guy, who is 5, idolizes both Manning brothers and proudly wore his Peyton Manning Broncos Jersey all day and night on Sunday as he rooted for his idol.

I asked my little football fan if, even after the Broncos’ crushing loss, he would still plan to wear a Broncos jersey to school the next day as a sign of solidarity with his quarterback and idol of choice. To my surprise, he did not waiver; he nodded his head YES and said, “Absolutely mom!” Gotta love the loyalty (must be because he is a Taurus!) that came through in support of a strong role model and NFL great, Peyton Manning.

These big public figures are role models to our children – good or bad. For the sake of our society and our civility, we adults and especially those on the public stage need to decide what messages we are sending every day to our kids and remember that young people are looking up to us.

Manning seemed to maintain his grace last night, even after such a devastating loss, with reporters and fans who were clamoring for his autograph. He was poised and showed class despite his obvious and justified disappointment.

I’m not sure how many more years, if any, Peyton Manning will play the game of football in the NFL, but I am certain he has made a positive impact and impression on our children. That, to me, is certainly a heroic win. Would you agree?

Choose Kind,

Leigh Ann

Crazy Heroes

September 20, 2013September 24, 2013 Leigh Ann Errico1 Comment

Last November, when I was just in the infancy stages of my idea for Wear the Cape for all kidkind, I saw the below commercial by Coca-Cola Latin America and production company Landia. Using security cameras to capture people performing random acts of kindness, the ad encourages us to look at the world a little differently.

As John Yong observed, writing for TAXI:

Security cameras may be used to deter the bad guys from committing crimes, but occasionally they do capture acts of kindness by everyday heroes.

Some of the people in this video risked their own lives to help others, pushing vehicles off light rail tracks with an oncoming train (“Crazy Heroes”), and others just did what’s right, not what’s easy – running to return a dropped pocketbook (“Honest Pickpocketing”).

As Yong goes on to say: