Our Latest Venture: Kids are Heroes

Posted by TeamCharlie on July 10, 2008 under Kids are Heroes | Be the First to Comment

In February of 2008, I just happened to catch an interview on TV.  It was Charlie Rose interviewing Sir Richard Branson.  I’m not the type of person who gets star struck in the least.  In fact, I believe that the only thing celebrities are better at than I am is becoming famous which is an attribute I do not covet.  However, I was fascinated by the interview.  I had no real opinion of Branson other than the fact that I knew he owned a large number of companies and was a successful businessman.  The focus of the interview was not so much his successes but what he plans to do from here on.  (The actual interview is online and can be seen in its entirety here.  I believe this is an hour well spent for those who have the time.)  He talks about his efforts in trying to help solve the global warming issue, and about cofounding “The Elders” with Peter Gabriel.  The Elders are a group of highly respected elder statesmen led by Nelson Mandela who go from place to place on this planet to try and resolve conflicts.  Branson also introduced me to the concept of “social entrepreneurship” which is very intriguing to me.  The idea is that instead of throwing money at a problem it may be better in some instances to try and solve issues with entrepreneurial skills.  This is the main focus behind one of Branson’s latest ventures, “Virgin Unite“.  The bottom line is that I was inspired by this interview.  We started Wags for Hope a couple of years ago and it is thriving nicely.   But we can do more.  I asked myself, “what entrepreneurial skills do I have that I can use to help others?”  One answer was website design and development.  At that same time I had just heard about some fantastic kids doing wonderful things in their communities.  Also at that time my daughter MaryMargaret had asked me to build her a website…

“Kids are Heroes” was spawned by these three inspirations.  This is a website dedicated to promote and showcase children that are doing exceptional acts in their communities.  The concept is that parents lead their children to the site and the kids form their own ideas on how they can get involved.  Once they see what other kids are doing and how easy it is, they also become inspired to help.  Case in point: one of our neighbors (his name is John and he is 8 years old) who saw the site told his mom that he wants to do something too.  He is a real animal lover but he inherently knew that lots of people are already helping animals.  There aren’t many kids helping families with premature babies (John was premature himself).  So that is his cause – he has started an aluminum can drive to buy gift bags for families at hospitals who have “preemies”.  He is going to solicit Boyd’s Bears for clothing and ask people to knit little hats.  Watch for him – he will be featured on the site real soon.  This is exactly what the website was designed to do.

My daughter MaryMargaret and I are cofounders of the site.  She is involved in the content, design – she even drew the logo herself.  This will be a great teaching tool for her – she even has her own blog on the site.

One of the greatest things about the site is the diversity of ways kids are helping and the variety of their causes.  From holding read-a-thons to lemonade stands to giving up birthday gifts to having their hair removed are just some of the ways kids are helping.  Aiding kids with cancer, senior citizens, blind horses, preemie babies, rescue organizations, homeless people – all walks of life are being assisted.  Meeting these children has indeed been a humbling experience for me.

I do believe we struck a nerve in the community.  Exactly one month ago, Kristina Negas from the Frederick News Post wrote an article about the site.  That day the site received over 400 hits.  We were on Channel 9 News in Washington that Friday night.  Other local media such as the Gazette and NBC 25 covered the story.  I think people are looking for heartwarming stories to read instead of listening to how much more gas is going to cost them.

The marketing director from the Francis Scott Key Mall also contacted us that day.  They want to have a “Kids are Heroes” day in early September where all the local heroes can spread awareness about their cause as well as collect donations.  In addition to that, each hero will be designated the fountain coins for the entire month.  Their picture and cause will be posted next to the fountains so that people walking by may throw in a few extra pennies.  Excluding the months of November and December, this will start in September and continue for at least one year.

Once schools get a hold of this website (as Ballenger Creek Elementary did) I think things will take off from there.  I truly believe this site can gain a global presence.  Stay tuned to see what happens…