scholarship | Wear The Cape Kids

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

Recently I went back to West Morris Mendham High School after 26 years since I graduated. Life moves so fast, and I am always “busy being busy,” but I regret that it took me more than two decades to get myself back there. The school’s wonderful awards evening made it evident that I should have visited sooner.

The places where we grew up really are “home,” and they shaped who we are. The memories and flashbacks that went through my brain as I walked those halls again were almost too much to process – some good, some big disappointments, but they all helped define my character and who I am today.

It was really nice to see some of my old teachers and faculty who are STILL there. I was so sad to hear that so many of my former colleagues and fellow students had passed away over the past decade – some quite tragically. It was heartening to see scholarships in their honor, and to hear the speeches and tributes to these great people who left us too soon was moving to the core of my heart.

I attended to proudly give away the kidkind foundation’s first Wear the Cape Hero Scholarship to the graduating senior who embodies the values and mission of our kidkind foundation – the person who truly Wears his/her Cape in everyday life and does what is right, not just what is easy.

I am really thrilled that we selected a fine young gentleman named Frank Piacenti from Chester, NJ, who will be attending George Washington University in the fall. I met the Piacenti family, and they were beyond gracious. I cannot explain the chill in my body that I experienced awarding this $2,500 scholarship to a great guy. When I spoke to the faculty about Frank, or Frankie as he is affectionately known, people instantly said what a wonderful human being he is…and that was simply awesome to hear. That’s what we are all about – finding the good – and recognizing the people who are inclusive and tolerant and give of themselves.

Frank will be an ambassador for our brand, and I am really excited to have his counsel.

I want to thank all of our donors to date for helping us raise funds to go out into the world and recognize the good in people. We cannot do this without all of you.

Congratulations, once again, Frank Piacenti; the sky is the limit for what you can do out in this world. We are excited to be part of your current and future success.

Choose kind,
Leigh Ann

P.S. To read more about this scholarship and see what Frank had to say about being recognized, read the press release on our Media page.