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This story was corrected on Nov. 4. An explanation of the correction is at the bottom of the story.
Some children equate heroism with donning a fancy cape, tapping their supernatural strength and fighting off villains.
But on Saturday, about 20 children donned shorts and T-shirts, tapped their human conscientiousness, promoted their fights for numerous causes, and were celebrated as heroes in their own right.
The second annual "Kids are Heroes" Day was held Saturday at the Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick. Children from around the country came to meet each other and raise awareness and funds to support issues spanning from clean water in Africa, to ending school bullying.
The children —brought together by a father-daughter duo from Frederick who started the Kids Are Heroes Web site in March 2008 — were also recognized in an awards ceremony for their hard work.
"It's not about showcasing these kids, or coming here to receive an award from a mall," said Gabe O'Neill, whose10-year-old daughter, MaryMargaret O'Neill, came up with the Web site idea. "It's about sharing an experience with like-minded kids who want to make a difference. We see this as a celebration of what kids are capable of."
MaryMargaret has a laundry list of causes that she has undertaken, including providing pajamas and slippers for the Frederick Community Action Agency, raising money for the Frederick County Animal Shelter, and holding a cell phone drive for solders. She was joined by many like-minded children on Saturday.
Evan Frank, 8, whose family recently moved from Frederick to Harper's Ferry, W.Va., carried around with him Saturday a label-less bottle filled with dirt and water to exemplify his mission of building clean-water wells in South Africa.
Frank, who has raised $9,000 for the wells, began his mission in April 2008, after viewing a documentary in church on disease-plagued water that was killing children in Africa. He now serves as a youth ambassador of the cause for his church.
"I saw kids were drinking black water, and I thought they would be blessed to drink this water because it doesn't have diseases," he said, holding up his homemade, dirt-brown liquid.
Frank raised his funds through giving up Christmas, birthday, and other presents in exchange for money, and also held various fundraisers throughout last year. This Halloween, he said, he will trick-or-treat for donations to his cause.
Other children honored Saturday drew from personal experiences for their causes.
John Sun, 9, of Ijamsville, said he was born prematurely, which inspired him to give back to other families who experienced the same anxieties as his parents. John was recognized Saturday for his work. He has volunteered at Frederick Memorial Hospital and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. Shady Grove named John its honorary Santa Claus last year.
"I think it's important that [the parents] know that this is what can be," Sun said.
On Saturday, the healthy fifth-grader began his first drive for toiletries and other items to send to soldiers fighting wars around the world. He said he was inspired by having an uncle and grandfather fight in World War II.
"I thought, they need it more than we do," he said. "I think it's important that they know there are people here who care."
The Kids are Heroes organization was also proud to host one of its newest members, Kayleigh Crimmins, who recently garnered national attention by offering to sell her toys in order to buy ballistic vests for police dogs.
Crimmins said Saturday, she was "angry" when she went to observe the K-9 Unit of her father's police department in Chesapeake, Va., and noticed that not all the dogs had protection. That, coupled with the fact that Kayleigh's beloved and protective German Shepherd, Rommel, died last year, motivated her to be creative, her mother Leomi Crimmins said.
In March, the 6-year-old dog-lover took the advice of her aunt to sell some of her toys on the Internet and at church yard sales to raise money.
"I want to protect the dogs like my puppy does for me," Kayleigh said when asked why she wanted to help the dogs. So far, she has bought four ballistic vests for K-9 units, and an alarm system that would alert officers if their dogs were overheating in police cars.
Sometimes, when Kayleigh sees her toy spatula or bowls, she misses her kitchen set — one of the first of her toys to sell in the fundraising effort. But, her mother said, she gets over it: "She'll just have to use her imagination more — which we see, can be a good thing."
E-mail Erica L. Green at egreen@gazette.net.
This story originally said John Sun works in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Frederick Memorial Hospital. He has volunteered at Frederick Memorial Hospital and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital. Shady Grove named John its honorary Santa Claus last year.
