Kids Are Heroes Day 2009

Posted by Gabe on August 12, 2009 under Kids are Heroes, Kids Are Heroes Day | 5 Comments to Read

For those of you that have been with us a while, you might remember Kids Are Heroes Day which was held at the Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick, Maryland last September.  Approximately 15 of our local heroes participated.  The event was from 10AM-4PM on a Saturday with the kids at different tables raising awareness for their causes and collecting donations.  The middle of the event was reserved for a recognition ceremony where all 15 kids were recognized by the mall on stage.  As I look back on it, it was the culmination of a lot of planning and a lot of hard work to get to that point, but the kids made every second of it worthwhile.  Five inches of rain from Tropical Storm Hannah did not even come close to dampening anyone’s spirits. Here are some pictures from that day.

 Countdown to Kids Are Heroes Day!

 

Well it’s that time of year again – to start planning for Kids Are Heroes Day 2009.  Christina Steinbrenner (marketing director for FSK Mall) and I had our first meeting for this year just this afternoon. I have fond memories of our sessions last year and that is mainly because of her attitude.  People in this position can sometimes be greedy and care only how it affects their stature and/or their bottom line.  That was why I was a bit skeptical when she first approached me.  However, right after our first meeting I was confident that she was a person that was not like that at all.  Having traveled with Habitat for Humanity herself and also sharing my passion for kids, I quickly discovered that we would get along just fine.

So this year Kids Are Heroes Day will be on Saturday, October 24th from 10AM-4PM, which also happens to be Make A Difference Day.  We encourage everyone to come down to the mall and cheer on these kids.  If you are a parent who would like your kids to be involved in the community, we also urge you to bring your kids down to meet these heroes.  None of them have horns or tails – they are all normal kids just like your own.

An Open Request

To make this event very special this year, the FSK Mall has opened it up for all heroes on the web site to participate.  Over 70 heroes hail from all over the US and Canada, many as close to us as our back yard but some are as far away as Texas, California and even Edmonton, Alberta.  We would absolutely love for as many of the heroes featured on the site to be able to attend as would be possible.  We have seen when the kids get together, kids who share empathy for others, and how well they complement each other and interact together.  It is a wonderful thing to see.  As you would imagine these kids would love to be a  part of this.  However, especially in this economy, many can ill afford to take this trip.  Some are single parents with a single income.  So, if you know of anyone who would consider a corporate sponsorship, someone capable of sponsoring the return flight of one or more of the heroes, and/or to sponsor hotel rooms, please have them contact me directly at gabe at kidsareheroes dot com.  Even donating frequent flyer miles would work.  We will be knocking on the doors of  local hotels and airlines to see what we can do, but it would be just wonderful if we could make this happen somehow.  Please send anyone that might be able to help make this work to this blog.   You can also donate to their travel expenses by clicking the button below.  Thank you and we look forward to seeing you in October!