progress | Wear The Cape Kids

“A great accomplishment shouldn’t be the end of the road, just the starting point for the next leap forward.” –Harvey Mackay

I find it rather fitting that I stumbled upon the above quote as I was reflecting on the work that’s been done via the kidkind foundation in 2015. Many of the projects on which we have been focused this past year are, in fact, foundational for kidkind’s “next leap forward.”

We’ve had a busy year at the kidkind foundation, and the fruits of our labor are now in sight. Setting our goals high, we tackled major projects that will truly move the needle on restoring the power of kindness and heroic character. Some 2015 highlights include:

School Assembly: A team of talented educators, in coordination with Wear the Cape character education expert Dr. Philip Brown, created a stellar anti-bullying assembly for elementary schools, which includes a video with Cape Kids and Junior Board Members displaying the strategies and skills needed to be BETTER THAN THAT™. For further information on how to bring the assembly to a school near you, starting in January 2016, contact me at leighann@wearthecape.com.
Children’s Book: Hard work during 2015 writing and illustrating our first children’s book will come to fruition in 2016, as we are now in the final stages of publishing. Expect a fun-filled story that engages young kids with magical details and vibrant illustrations to convey that it’s better to be a hero than a bully. We promise not to disappoint.
Holiday Fundraiser: Late last month, Wear the Cape brought together kids and adults for its third annual holiday event promoting kindness and giving to those in need. Over 20 Cape Kids volunteered their time to collect the thousands of dollars in supplies that were donated for American troops overseas and the hundreds of toys, such as Barbies and Legos, which warmed hearts at the NJ Children’s Shelter. The fundraiser also raised over $8,000 for kidkind to continue teaching children about the importance of doing good in 2016!
Raising Awareness: Wear the Cape’s resident character education expert Dr. Philip Brown produced valuable educational materials provided to parents for free to help them understand how best to raise Cape Kids of good character. Examples include:
New Gear that Spreads the Message: Due to popular demand, Wear the Cape has added new merchandise to our Hero Collection. Check out the Hero Hat (Winter Edition), Keepin’ It Kind Tee (Long Sleeve), and Powerful Pucker Lip Moisturizer in our shop!

I am so proud of all the Cape Kids who have helped further the mission of restoring the power of kindness and heroic character and am so grateful for the love and support of my dear friends and family, who give me the courage and grace to live each day a little kinder than the last.

Together, let’s strive to make 2016 even better than 2015!

Choose kind,
Leigh Ann

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