Imagine being a child stuck in the hospital with a serious illness and all of a sudden Spiderman appears outside your window. And he’s not alone. Batman, Superman, Captain America and Wolverine are also crawling all over the building.
That’s exactly what happened at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Tuesday. The costumed crime fighters were actually grime fighters – window washers dressed up as some of Earth’s mightiest heroes.
That distinction didn’t matter to the delighted children watching it all through the windows. Young Alex Capretta was sporting a Batman t-shirt. But he says Spiderman was his favourite “because Spiderman shoots webs.”
The spectacle coincided with the kick-off to CHEO’s “be a hero for CHEO” campaign to raise awareness of this weekend’s CHEO Telethon. President and CEO Alex Munter says it’s a time when “everybody can be a superhero for CHEO.”
It was also a special day for the window washers. Martin Regimbald of Cody Window Cleaners says he’s never seen the crew so excited to go to work. “They’ve been showing off some pictures of their costumes. So they were all looking forward to this day,” he says.
One, who simply went by the name Wolverine, said the joy he saw on children’s faces almost brought him to tears. But “wolverines don’t cry” he adds.
Organizers hope it will inspire everyone to be a hero and make a donation. The TD Bank Group is making it even easier. It’s encouraging people to visit CHEO’s Facebook page, or tweet using the hashtag #hero4cheo. If the campaign reaches 10,000 likes, shares, comments and tweets, TD will donate $10,000.
The CHEO Telethon runs this weekend, June 8th and 9th, on CTV Ottawa.
