Our Biggest Event Yet

Posted by Gabe on June 1, 2010 under Kids Are Heroes Day, Kids are Heroes | Read the First Comment

Some days I wonder if not enough is happening with Kids Are Heroes, while other days I think that soon we won’t be able to handle the expansion that is certain to come.  One thing is for sure, we have been gradually getting bigger and bigger, and forging more relationships with people and companies that can further our cause.  Case in point: In February we got an idea with the help of one of our heroes’ moms to approach Boyd’s Bear Country and see if they would be interested in hosting a “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” at their store.  They agreed, and thanks to the success of the TWO events we had there they also offered to host a Kids Are Heroes Day in the summer time.  If you have never been to this store it’s hard to describe because it is SO different than any other experience you have ever had with a retail store.  Actually it doesn’t even look like a store — it’s a HUGE four-story barn that boasts 130,000 square feet of retail space and sits on 123 acres nestled in the mountains of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  And even though it’s called Bear Country they sell a lot more than just bears.  It’s definitely something all kids and adults alike should experience.

So why is this such a big event?  There are several answers to this:

1) This will be our first event where special guest star (and ex-NFL player) Levar Fisher will not only be giving a motivational speech to kids and parents in the afternoon, but he will also be hosting a mini-football camp in the morning.

2) The folks at Boyd’s have estimated there will be at least 500 kids in attendance.

3) There will be 11 heroes from our web site coming from all over the US and Canada.

4) This will be our third bear donation event where kids can collect money to pay for stuffed bears at a discount price.  If they donate a minimum of two bears, Boyd’s will let them build an additional bear for free for them to donate or keep for themselves.  All donated bears will be given to the Philadelphia Police Department of behalf of Bears on Patrol, a non-profit that supplies bears to the police so that they can in turn hand them out to kids who are in difficult situations.

Kids Are Heroes Day at Boyd’s will occur on Saturday, June 26th, 2010.   This is truly going to be an incredible day your family won’t want to miss.

Here are the heroes scheduled to appear:

Evan Frank		Harper’s Ferry, WV
	Recently, Evan opted to not receive gifts for his 8th birthday party, but rather asked his guests to make donations to the “Water for Life” project. Evan has planned a Valentine’s Dinner and mini-concert at his church with all proceeds going to the project. At last count, Evan had raised $7000.00. He is an ambassador for the Water for Life project where a goal of $4800 has been set. $4800 is needed to install a complete well and provide clean drinking water for an entire village. Evan has set a goal of 100 wells in his lifetime.
Kennedy Kulish		Lancaster, PA
	Kennedy Kulish started her self initiated service project of “Kisses for Kaeden” in November of 2003 on behalf of her baby brother Kaeden who was born with several heart defects and needing several open heart surgeries before his 1st birthday. Kennedy (who was only 6 at the time) wanted to make a difference in helping other “Kaeden’s” and their families. Recruiting friends, classmates and team mates Kennedy held a fundraiser for Kaeden’s first birthday celebration asking family and friends to bring monetary donations for the hospital that helped Kaeden instead of normal birthday gifts for the already “spoiled” lil Kaeden. Raising over $2000.00, Kennedy was inspired to do more.
Casey Landahl		New Market, MD
	Casey is no stranger to donating. She has grown and donated her hair to “Locks of Love” twice, participates in the annual “Buddy Walk” for Down Syndrome, and helps her elderly neighbors. Many of her guests found it hard to believe Casey wanted to do this. They called and asked if she was serious and thought she would cry when no gifts came for her. Casey continued to say that she wanted to help the cats and did not care about gifts. She had a wonderful time at her party and feels great to have “helped the cats find a new home”. Casey is wise and generous beyond her years. I am so proud to have daughter like her and am thankful her younger sister has such a special big sister to look up to!
MaryMargaret O’Neill		Ijamsville, MD
	MaryMargaret O’Neill is the founder of Kids Are Heroes.  In March of 2008, she asked her dad to build her a web site. “I want to help animals,” she said.  Out of that discussion came the beginning of the Kids Are Heroes organization.  She has been featured on the site three separate times. For her ninth birthday she gave up her gifts for the Defenders of Wildlife.  In the summer of 2008 she and her friends held a lemonade stand which turned into a donation of 80 Webkinz for kids at a local cancer camp.  Her most recent accomplishment was to deliver 250 MP3 players to two area youth hospitals.  She purchased them with money she raised over the course of more than a year.
Wesley Prankard		Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
	Wesley Prankard camped out in the cold for 24 hours during March break. His goal was to raise $2400.00 and awareness for the conditions in Attawapiskat, Ontario; a First Nation reserve on James Bay in which 1,000 of the 1,300 residents are said to be homeless. In the end Wesley raised over $5,800.00! In recognition of his efforts, Wesley was asked to go and deliver the aid in person to the community along with other TrueNorthAid volunteers and workers. While in Attawapiskat, the Deputy Chief presented Wesley with gifts including an Eagle’s Feather to honour him and his fundraising achievements on their behalf.
Bailey Reese		Niceville, FLA
	Bailey Reese was 7 when she founded Hero Hugs in 2004. After a hurricane hit the area where she lives, Bailey noticed people were not thanking soldiers passing out ice and water, but instead complaining about long lines and not getting enough. The soldiers had left the comforts of their homes and families to come help and should have been being thanked! Bailey gathered some friends to make thank-you cards for the soldiers and since has made it her passion to be sure the men and women who serve our country know someone is thinking of them even when we don’t like what they are doing or how they are doing it.
JT Robertson		Cuba, NY
	JT Robertson collects cans and returnables. He then uses the deposit money from those returnables to buy tickets for less fortunate children on the Arcade and Attica Railroad for a trip on Make A Difference Day every October. When JT first started, there was a problem with boarding the train for children with disabilities – especially wheelchairs. So JT continued to collect returnables to fund the trips but also started to raise awareness of the problem. He made a video and asked for letters of support for an Extreme Train Makeover.
Lexxi Saal		New York, USA
	At the age of eight Lexxi started a fundraiser to gather donations for the kids in foster care. Over the years she has received wonderful donations from her supporters. “Lexxi Loves” has inspired some of her peers to join and help support.
Ricky Springer		Dexter, GA
	Eight year old Ricky Springer is not your typical kid. On the outside he is the picture of perfect health, but on the inside his immune system wages war against the most common substance needed for life: Food. Ricky lives with an Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorder, a distinct disease which affects the gastrointestinal track, rendering the patient unable to tolerate food protein. In 2009 he initiated the Racing for a Cause campaign. As a dirt track go-kart racer, Ricky is using his racing platform to educate everyone he meets about these disorders, as well as raise money to support APFED (The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders) in educating physicians and the general public about these disorders.