everyday hero | Wear The Cape Kids

Recently, a teacher named Stephanie who is a fan of Wear the Cape witnessed the actions of a pint-sized everyday hero while on the job. As relayed by Stephanie:

A few days ago when I was on lunch duty, I noticed one of my students sitting at a table with several of our special needs students. Many of them are non-verbal, so they too often spend their lunchtime among other students’ chatter without being included.

I watched this particular student wondering, “Is he sitting with them or just near them?” After several minutes, it became clear that he was there because he wanted to be, drawing pictures for them and offering them jokes.

It’s so rare that we see children or even adults leave their comfort zones to give others comfort. I almost cried in the middle of a lunchroom full of 5th graders; I was so touched by how truly sweet he was. He was Wearing the Cape and showing – without knowing – the entire 5th grade how to be a great person, a self-made superhero.

After learning about Wear the Cape and spreading the word amongst our faculty, the teachers at our school now wear our “capes” – Wear the Cape t-shirts – to school on Fridays. We received so many questions about our shirts that my co-teacher Tara took the time to explain what Wear the Cape is all about – restoring the power of kindness and good character.

Highlighting the actions of the student who had recently taken the time to bring a little sunshine to his special-needs schoolmates at lunch was the perfect way to help the whole class see how to Wear the Cape on a daily basis. Without a word, this student had modeled good character and what it looks like to embrace our differences. He even explained to his classmates that sitting with the special needs students makes him feel good, that they like him being there.

It’s important that teachers recognize children who are Wearing the Cape. It makes them feel good and makes others want that feeling, too! Real-life examples help kids understand what it means to exude good character, and they give them ideas that can be applied in their own lives. I have a feeling that many of my students will start sitting with the special group at lunch…and I can’t wait!

Many thanks to Stephanie for sharing this heartwarming story! We hope it inspires more people to step out of their comfort zones in order to bring others comfort.

We are so excited to begin featuring blogs from YOU. By sharing your stories, it’s our hope that others will be inspired to Wear the Cape, too – because we can’t teach kindness on our own! It’s learned through experience. By seeing through the eyes of many, we will all have better perspective.

Our first installment comes from Cindy of New Jersey:

I experienced a true Wear the Cape moment a few months ago. My daughter and I were at Shop Rite, doing our weekly routine of buying groceries. It’s usually a rushed experience since we are always on the go and heading somewhere – but this day was different. My 6-year-old decided that she wanted to help bag the food, so I said, “Sure! That would be a huge help, and I’d love that.” Because she took that job on, I had the chance to stand there and just hang out for a few moments. I could have picked up my phone to check email, but for some reason I didn’t.

In those five calm minutes I noticed a couple at the register next to me. They looked older, tattered and a little unsettled – I was interested in what was happening (read: I can be nosy!), so I kept my eye on them and the woman at the register. Before I knew it, I realized that their bill was more than what they could pay. I quickly looked at what was left to be bagged: essentials like toilet paper, soap, chicken, milk, etc. I heard the cashier say, “I am sorry but you’re going to have to put some of this back, because what you gave me isn’t enough to cover the bill.”

I didn’t even think twice; I walked over to the register and said, “I would like to pay the rest of their bill.” My daughter, in her very loud (normal) voice exclaimed, “Mom, what’s happening? What are you doing?” I ignored her for a moment and pulled out my credit card to pay the bill so they could take everything home. I looked at the man and woman, now hugging and he was crying. His wife buried her head in his chest and didn’t say anything. With tears in his eyes, he whispered, “Thank you.”

The woman at the register turned to me and said, “I have worked here for 10 years and no one has ever done that…and believe me, we have people come through here weekly that have to return items.” I thought, “That is just not right!”

To top it off, the woman behind me grabbed my arms and looked me in the eye and said, “You are an angel. Wonderful things will come back to you, and you will be blessed.” I said to her, “Look at my daughter, and I have a son at home…I am already blessed!”

Without even realizing it, I had just taught everyone around me a lesson:

The struggling older couple now believes there are people in this word who are willing to help.
The cashier realized that there are still good people in the world.
And my favorite: My daughter watches me every day and learns from MY actions. She watched it all happen right before her eyes and couldn’t stop talking about it the entire way home (she, of course, told my son and husband), and she still talks about “the old couple that had no money that my mommy helped” – spoken by a true six-year-old. With one act of kindness, I made a lifelong impact. Your kids watch you every day, too – what a great thing to be able to teach an important lesson without saying a word at all!

The purpose of my story is to share that, in a moment’s notice, without giving enough time to talk yourself out of it, you can not only give someone dinner for one night, but change their perspective of the world! Be someone that changes the world – we can do it one person at a time.

—

Many thanks to Cindy for kicking off our Guest Blog feature! Please send us your stories, too. It takes a community to teach kindness.