‘Capes For Kids’ Program Aims To Reward Sandy Hook ‘Superheroes’

“Capes for Kids,” an organization that aims to give all 3,200 students in Newtown a cape of their own, is proving a roaring success.

The program was started earlier this week by 13-year-old Allison Anderson and her mom, Mollica. The pair are collecting “superhero” capes to honor the brave survivors of the Sandy Hook school massacre, and hope to equip every student in Newtown with a cape. A statement on the “Capes for Kids” Facebook page reads:

“They need to know they are brave and strong. They need to know that the world thinks they are all superheroes … and every superhero needs a cape.”

Mollica and Allison have worked with staff from Northwest Catholic High School in nearby West Hartford to get their campaign moving, which originally aimed to supply capes to the 525 surviving students at Sandy Hook; a request from a local school board member to give all schoolkids in Newtown a cape has sent that number soaring to 3,200.

Within 24 hours of the campaign starting, Mollica revealed 1,000 capes had been pledged. That was when the campaign expanded to include every elementary and middle school student in Newtown.

At the time of writing, Allison and Mollica have collected 1,700 capes and raised $1,200, with hordes of volunteers offering to sew angel wings on the capes.

Mollica is hoping that the students can be presented with their capes at a special “Superhero Day,” likely to occur when Sandy Hook students return to their school after Christmas break. She told the New York Daily News:

“These kids saw horrific things. So we said, ‘We’re going to make you superheroes for a day.’ Even if its just going to give them that little smile, something to be happy about. They lost that sense of being a kid, running and jumping around in a superhero cape. We want to give that back to them.”

If you’re interested in donating a cape of your own to this awesome scheme, you can drop yours at Northwest Catholic, 29 Wampanoag Drive, West Hartford, Connecticut.

Brilliant job, Allison and Mollica!