ANDERSON, S.C. — A group of Northeast Georgia superheroes took time this week to spread cheer to people they call the real heroes.
Batman, Captain America, Spiderman and Thor from Clarkesville-based Heroes in Force delivered smiles and present-filled superhero stockings to children at AnMed Health Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Anderson, S.C.
The annual pilgrimage to visit hospital patients is something group members look forward to each year.
“This is something that we like to do every year around Christmas Eve,” said Batman (aka Josh Brady). “We get stockings from the community. A lot of it is donated by the community, and what’s not donated we fill in from what we’ve raised, as far as our Heroes in Force group, throughout the year.”
Group members say the child patients, their families, and the staff of the hospital are the true heroes, and they hope they can make the holiday brighter for all involved.
“We bring the stockings in every year right before Christmas, and we give these to the kids that have to spend Christmas in the hospital,” he said. “We feel like it’s a down time for them when they have to spend Christmas Day in the hospital, so we wanted to do something special for them to let them know that Santa hasn’t forgotten them – he knows exactly where they are – and hopefully it will give them a little cheer and help them heal a little quicker.”
But children and their families weren’t the only ones anxious to visit with the superheroes.
Throughout the hospital and various offices in the building, staff members rushed to have their photos taken with the Heroes in Force team for themselves, their children or grandchildren.
As soon as the 2017 mission at the hospital was over, the 2018 Stockings for Superheroes drive began.
“We’ll always accept donations all year long,” he said. “Usually, we do a big push right toward October, and as soon as Halloween gets over with then we really start encouraging the donations because everybody is out Black Friday shopping and there are deals everywhere that you can get very, very nice things for just a few dollars.”
“Of course, The Art-Full Barn has been very supportive of us,” he said. “It’s our headquarters. You can always come in there and purchase things from the store and donate. We have a donation box right there at the register if people want to donate for the events next year.”
Monetary donations also are accepted.
“A lot of the churches around have done that for us, and we’re very appreciative of that, because without all the donations of toys and money, we couldn’t do this,” he said.
Heroes in Force seeks to equip and empower children, youth, and adults to “Be the Hero” in their schools, work, community, and lives.
The group participates in parades, festivals, school and community events, and even does birthday parties to help fund its charity work.
To learn more about the mission of Heroes in Force, look up Heroes in Force on Facebook, visit heroesinforce.com, and @heroesinforce on Instagram.
