By now, I imagine most people have heard about how Bat Kid saved San Francisco this past Friday; he rescued a damsel in distress, captured The Riddler, and saved the San Francisco Giants mascot at AT&T Park from the Penguin- all in a days work. If you haven’t read the story, just take a look at one of thousands of articles or social platforms covering the event.
A few days ago, national press broke about this NorCal event launched by the Make a Wish Foundation. Five year old Miles Scott loves Batman much like the typical 5-year old boy; but what makes him so untypical is his brave lifelong battle with leukemia. His wish was to save the city and experience the life of his favorite masked superhero for a day. A call for volunteers on the Make a Wish website sought out people to join as an audience, as well as actors and dancers to be involved in the scenes, which included a flash mob for Miles. A few national press venues started to cover the story, with hashtags and trending tops evolving almost immediately. People from all around the country were stepping up to be a part of the project; a true celebration of a young man fighting a battle that most of us could not fathom. In just a few days, over 10,000 people rallied behind Miles- the city of San Francisco teamed up with Make-a-Wish creating an elaborate schedule of events, an active involvement from the city mayor, and tons of support from the SFPD. Miles was picked up in a donated lambourghini Batmobile, accompanied by Batman himself to navigate through the day.
On Friday, the streets of San Francisco were packed with supporters and city-goers. Thousands of people called off work for the day, and the typical morning commutes were compromised with closed roads and extensive traffic. Buildings around the city hung signs in support of Bat Kid. Hans Zimmer, composer and genius involved in the scoring of the Dark Knight films, created a score just for Miles and his entrance at City Hall. The entire city of San Francisco watched as a caped child lived the dream that we all played in our heads countless times growing up, and maybe even today. After the Mayor presented Miles with a key to the city, President Obama hopped on Vine and shouted out to Miles; a congratulations on saving Gotham. Many of us sat at at our laptops or phones, hundreds of miles away, watching everything go down thanks to on-the-scene Instagram posts and Twitter posts. Our entire country has been moved by this complex yet simple act of love and support.
I can’t stop thinking about the incredible ability that we have to share great stories and content, with geographic locations and distance playing a minimal role. I don’t think this story would have reached the Midwest in the capacity that it has without the support of social media tools and crowdsourced content. We all were able to sit back and watch this story come to life; a child’s dream comes true with the support of both his local and global community. Strangers used vacation time, extended their daily commutes, and simply showed up for a child. That is the type of ownership that makes a city like San Francisco so special. And I see this as a challenge to cities around the globe to make greatness happen in their own back yard and cityscape. Imagine if a coffee shop or local restaurant sought after a need in their community like Make a Wish has?
Imagine if a bunch of event planners in your town met together to create the coolest party ever for someone who really needs a good day in their near future. Imagine if we lived every day of our life trying to enrich someone else’s life; whether it be your neighbor or a complete stranger.
I appreciate the kindness, gratitude, and action that the San Francisco community has shown- now who’s next?
