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Photography courtesy of Fresh Art Photography
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Photography courtesy TinySuperheroes
Bella
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Photography courtesy TinySuperheroes
Oakley
Eight-month-old Blake received his invitation to join the super squad in June, when a blue cape marked with the letter B arrived at his family’s doorstep. Blake battles end-stage renal disease, which causes renal failure and requires a kidney transplant. His mother, Heather Bahr, says the cape has been a blessing for the whole family. “We were touched,” she says. “The cape represents how strong he is.”
Felicity’s mother was especially thrilled when her daughter, who has a rare chromosomal disorder, received her cape about a year ago. “For us, it meant knowing that there were other people out there who have kids with special needs and knowing that we’re not alone on this journey,” says Felicity’s mother, Stephanie Cozine.
Being a part of the tiny superheroes squad means being part of a community of support. It’s one that local mom Robyn Rosenberger began in Seattle, where she founded TinySuperheroes. She’s continued the organization after moving here and, to date, has recruited more than 6,000 tiny superheroes.
Right now, there are hundreds of kids on the TinySuperheroes wait-list. Before the nonprofit’s inception, Rosenberger made capes for fun. “I had a sewing machine and decided to make a superhero cape for my nephew,” she recalls. “Then for my son and our dog.”
The idea of starting a nonprofit didn’t occur to Rosenberger until she found a blog post about a little girl named Brenna who was born with a rare skin disease. Rosenberger sent Brenna a pink superhero cape. “I didn’t know her,” says Rosenberger, “but I thought she was extraordinary.”
Brenna’s parents graciously accepted the gift. Shortly thereafter, Rosenberger started sending capes to other tiny superheroes she found online and began writing her own blog about the kids. Soon, Rosenberger was getting requests for superhero capes. In June 2013, she quit her job at a software company to pursue cape-making full-time.
One of her most recent additions to the squad is super Kennedy, a 4-year-old from St. Charles with Down syndrome who battled leukemia during the first half of her life. Kennedy received her cape in early spring and has been attached to it ever since. “I put it on her, and she goes, ‘Cape, Mommy, cape!’” says mother Abbie Meyerhoff. “She kept running and playing with it—she wouldn’t take it off.”
Kennedy even wore her cape to doctor appointments. “It helped her focus and be brave,” says Meyerhoff. “She’s not thinking about getting her blood drawn or being in pain. She’s thinking about being a superhero.” In April, Kennedy’s doctors announced that she was cancer-free. “Everything about Kennedy is incredible,” says Meyerhoff. “She’s beaten the odds in so many ways.”
For kids like Kennedy, a tiny superhero cape means much more than a monogrammed sheet of felt. It represents empowerment, self-esteem, awareness, and community. “Making these superhero capes changed my entire perspective,” says Rosenberger. “I never knew of a community that existed outside of healthy kids. But it’s how these kids remain strong. There is something extraordinary about it.”
