5-year-old Miles Scott recently took on some serious responsibility- saving the city of San Francisco from the diabolical plots of the villainous Penguin. A recent article by USA Today details the day’s events. Miles, known as Batkid, rescued a damsel in distress, arriving on the scene of the crime in the batmobile, (a lamborghini decorated to look like the original batmobile), put a stop to a bank robbery that was underway on Montgomery Street and, ultimately, faced off with the Penguin to end his crimes for good. The little hero then was awarded the key to the city from the Mayor of San Francisco.
The city of San Francisco, along with many other people who made the journey to San Francisco for this memorable event, transformed the streets into Gotham City to make this little hero’s dream come true. Miles, who is from Tulelake, California, was diagnosed with leukemia when he was just a year and a half old. He has been enduring treatments ever since being diagnosed. That is, until this past June, when they were able to end treatments because Miles is now in remission.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation was behind this plan to help Miles become the superhero he has always idolized, and about 7,000 people pitched in to make this a reality for Miles.
Donning an impressive bat-suit, complete with a cape, Miles was escorted around town by a full-sized batman and of course, his trusty sidekick, Robin, played by Miles’ younger brother. Everywhere they went, the streets were lined with spectators, cheering them on, videotaping and snapping photos of Batkid.
The incredible amount of community support for Miles’ big event was nothing the Make-A-Wish Foundation had anticipated. It started with a call from a San Francisco social marketing organization, contacting the foundation to see how they were going to raise awareness about the event. Admittedly, the Foundation did not have arrangements in place and was grateful for the assistance of the Clever Girls Collective company in generating interest and support for the event.
The event quickly caught-on, and grew to proportions no one had imagined. Batkid’s day of adventures was a truly inspiring sight, not only to see a deserving little boy become the hero of a city as he had always wanted, but to see how many people came together to support him. We can only hope our society can continue to join together for events like this in the future and support those who need it the most.
