Make-A-Wish Foundation : The Batkid story #AtoZChallenge

The city was in trouble and there was only one superhero who could save it.
His name was Miles Scott. He was 5 years old and had been on treatment for leukemia since the age of eighteen months. But he had one secret... he was Batkid.

For a single day, San Francisco became the Gotham of comic books as thousands of people took a break from their jobs and came on to the streets to (paraphrasing from 'The Dark Knight') 'be the city the hero needed'.

As the day progressed, accompanied by Batman, Batkid would do it all.

Save a damsel in distress? Check.

Drive around Gotham in a Lamborghini Batmobile? Check. 

Stop a bank robbery orchestrated by the dastardly Riddler? Check. 

Everywhere the child went, thousands waited in line to cheer him on. They even had Batkid shirts and caps (some just painted on with markers).

Having saved the San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal, Mile Scott would eventually end up at City Hall where he got the key to the city from the actual Mayor himself, who declared the momentous day "Batkid day, forever". There was even a faux front page of the Gotham City Chronicle thanking the Batkid for saving the city.

#FollowFriday RT @SFWish: Here he comes!!!! #SFBatkid pic.twitter.com/pMn3gRHcLo

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 15, 2013

No less than The President of the United States lent his support to the tiny superhero, egging the crowd on via social media.

How is any of this possible, you ask?

Thank the good will of strangers and a 37 year old organization called the Make-A-Wish Foundation (MAW). The non-profit organization looks to fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. They coordinate with health care bodies (to determine if the child is fit for their wish) on one side and celebrities on the other side to make dreams (and often, last wishes) come true.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar celebrated his 43rd birthday cutting his cake 

and sharing batting tips with Make-A-Wish Foundation children

Today, MAW operates in 50 countries, including India where stars including Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Shahid Kapoor and Mahesh Babu have fulfilled wishes.

Till date, WWE wrestler John Cena 'holds the belt' for most wishes granted (500+) by a single individual - a true Universal Champion, indeed (Video here)

In the case of the Batkid, what was truly magical was that an entire city came together. Even the MAW never imagined in their wildest dreams being able to hold something this grand. The scenario escalated purely via word of mouth.

From the mayor to the bank, from college kids to business men, thousands of absolute strangers decided to help make this child feel special that day. There was no newspaper announcement - social media was used the right way for once, for a positive impact.

A documentary on Miles Scott and his Batkid day was bought by no less than Warner Brothers (who made the recent Batman movies). The film was released as Batkid Begins, a play on the 'Batman Begins' title of the famous trilogy, garnering an excellent 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Why I want you to remember the Make-A-Wish-Foundation 

 Till date, more than half a million seemingly impossible wishes of sick children have been successfully fulfilled by this non-profit group. The journey continues even today to make dreams come true for sick and terminal children all over the world.

This is part of my #AtoZChallenge where I will be focusing on Real Life Heroes: Shining Examples of Kindness and Compassion. You can find other real-life heroes here.