It’s Cool to Be Kind at Assumption School

Assumption School The staff and students of Assumption School, in Morristown, New Jersey have shown us that they are Better Than That! We were honored to perform two assemblies, one for grades K-4 and a second for grades 5-8.

When asked, “Who do you know who wears a cape?” the students at Assumption School didn’t reply with the typical superhero, they replied with the names of their peers and classmates who stood out by choosing to be kind and heroic.

Assumption School This was a first for us at Wear The Cape and we could not be more proud! The students of Assumption School embraced the mission of Wear The Cape by showing us and others that it’s “Cool to Be Kind.” They promised to be heroic and BETTER THAN THAT, both in school and in their daily lives.

After the assembly, three students approached us to thank us for coming to their school. They said they loved the message and were excited to use the strategies we taught them. We were touched and honored to hear how well our message of kindness is being received.

Please email leighann@wearthecapekids.com for more information or to book an assembly at your school.

Ethan Pio Cape Kid of the month for March 2019

Ethan Pio Cape Kid of the Month for April 2019

Ethan Pio Cape Kid of the month for March 2019It is an honor to present Ethan Pio as our Cape Kid of the month for March. Ethan graduated West Morris Mendham High School this past June and really showed his peers that it is cool to be kind.

For the past three years, Ethan has been a part of a club called Friends and Buddies at Mendham. This club works with special needs students at his school. Ethan has become good friends with all of the special needs students, however, he says “Casey has probably been the closest to me and has caught my eye the most.”

As Ethan’s senior prom was approaching, he knew he wanted to make a memorable prom for himself and his date. When he was thinking about who to ask, Ethan instantly thought of Casey for a couple of reasons. First of all, Casey made it a point to tell everyone in their school that Ethan and her were “boyfriend and girlfriend.” Another reason for him wanting to take Casey to prom was because he says, “she is honestly one of the most perfect people at Mendham. Despite her special needs, every girl should strive to be more like Casey.” Last but certainly not least, Ethan wanted to give Casey a memorable day to make her as happy as she makes others every day. She was certainly the most deserving girl he could have asked.

Ethan Pio Cape Kid of the month for March 2019When it came to the promposal, Ethan went all out. On Casey’s birthday everyone sang to her in the lunchroom, but behind her a huge present was waiting for her. When Casey opened the gift, out popped Ethan with a sign asking her to prom. She said yes and they both had huge smiles on their faces. The promposal was elaborate, to say the least, because Ethan wanted to make every part of Casey’s prom so special.

The day of prom, Ethan recalls seeing the excitement on Casey’s face in school. At pre-prom pictures, Ethan says, “Casey smiled so big when we took pictures and she excitedly introduced me to her family. It was honestly the cutest thing ever for her to introduce me the way she did even though I had met her family countless times.”

On the way to prom, Casey, Ethan and their friends had a blast on the party bus. Once at prom, they danced the night away. The highlight of the night was when Ethan got a bunch of his friends to form a circle around Casey and she danced with a huge smile on her face. Ethan made sure Casey had the best night and one she can remember forever. Ethan admits, “the whole weekend Casey’s mom was spamming my phone because Casey was talking about prom so much. This prom was far better than last year and far better than anything I could have done that day.”

When asked how he would describe his relationship with Casey, Ethan says “she is always so positive, happy and unbelievably caring. She looks out for the well-being of her other classmates helping them to be safe and get them through their days. She is also hilarious and tries to make people laugh and be happy when there not having a good day. That is not something you see from the majority of high school students.”

Ethan Pio Cape Kid of the month for March 2019On a daily basis, Ethan tries to BETTER THAN THAT™by not caring about the people who try to bring him down. He tries to be himself and help others whenever he can just like Casey does. Ethan believes it is important for people to reject drama and not get caught up in problems that come along with being a teen. Ethan admits, “I do not consider myself as kind, but I know I have done kind things.” He thinks kind actions are the right thing to do because everyone deserves to have a good day every day.

Through working with special needs students, Ethan lives his life by focusing on the good over the bad. He tries to be like Casey in the sense that he is always friendly and selflessly makes other people’s lives better. Ethan is a humble hero who continues to WEAR THE CAPE™ proudly. It is an honor for us to share his kindness story. Good Luck next year following your dreams of becoming a mechanical engineer at Purdue University.

 

 

Cape Kid of the Month – Ilana Druskin

Ilana DruskinIt is an honor to introduce to you our Cape Kid of the month, Ilana Druskin, a 15 –year-old high school Sophomore at Gill St. Bernards School in Gladstone, NJ and an inspiration to children and adults.

This wonderful young lady has been volunteering since sixth grade. She had always helped others, but decided that she wanted to assist in a greater way, in preparation for her Mitzvah project.  Her desire to help children led to her work with Blessings in A Backpack, with the Greater Brunswick Charter School, where she helped to raise enough money to fill backpacks with food for over 170 less fortunate students, for them to bring home on the weekends to ensure that they had food to eat when not in school.

Ilana became so passionate about this project that she chose to continue her work with Blessings in a Backpack and the Greater Brunswick Charter School. Once, when in middle school, she noticed that the school’s pantry was near empty. In response, she organized a canned food drive to ensure that the pantry had plenty of food for the students. She also has lead several bake sales and coat drives to help the students at the school over the course of the four years that she has been volunteering.

Along with her family, Ilana provides Thanksgiving meals to families in November, so that they have a warm meal to eat on the holiday. In December, she purchases Christmas gifts for the students at Greater Brunswick Charter School, as she knows their families cannot financially provide them with the gifts they hope to receive.

When asked what serving these children means to her, Ilana replied, “It makes me more humble and not take anything for granted. These kids will take anything over nothing. “

Ilana even turned a family vacation in Guatemala into a service project.  She noticed that impoverished children were running to cars to receive Christmas gifts, a custom in this country. She and her family wanted to help. They found a local store and purchased toys, then pulled to the side of the road and handed them out to the dozens of children who ran up to the car.  “It made me feel good to do something for them,” she recalls.

In an effort to do even more for others, Ilana became certified as a pet therapist with her dog, Chloe, through Bright and Beautiful, Ltd. She hopes to begin her own business tutoring children in reading by having them practice read to Chloe. She has already started reading with kids and her dog at a her local library, and claims “…the kids absolutely love it. They don’t want to stop reading. It’s a great way to encourage the love of reading.”

As an aspiring doctor, Ilana will volunteer in the Emergency Room at Ocean County Medical Center in Point Pleasant, New Jersey.

When asked how she finds the time to fit in all of her volunteering with an already full sports and school schedule, she says that she lives by her motto: You can only go up! If you keep trying hard, you can only get better. Don’t stop, if you put in the dedication and effort, you will get results.  She encourages others to volunteer as well by stating, “Saying that you don’t have the time is not a good excuse.  I have practice every day, and I find the time.  Start small and find something that you are passionate in.”

Well done, Ilana.  Thank you for being a terrific Cape Kid and for inspiring others to want to help, as well.