Batkid saved Gotham city from evil villains. In the process, he also captured the hearts of people across the globe. Batkid, AKA Miles, is now back to being a 5-year-old in his home town of Tulelake, in Siskyou County. Now, Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area is thanking all who helped make Mile's wish come true, including our ABC7 viewers.
"It was awesome to have ABC7 as a partner on this wish," said Patricia Wilson, the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area executive director.
"For the first time in my recent memory, social media became social good,"
Some of the numbers are in. There were more than 16,000 people RSVP'd to be at City Hall ceremony, but crowd estimates came in at more than 20,000. A city spokesperson says San Francisco spent $105,000 to make Miles' wish come true. When Make-A-Wish realized how big the wish had become some of its donors became concerned for the city and stepped in to help.
"They offered to offset some of the expenses for the city up front. I didn't even have to ask," said Wilson.
On average, a wish costs about $7,500. The local chapter hopes to grant 357 wishes this year. Miles' wish was not a fundraiser, but Make-A-Wish has already received $10,000 from the t-shirt sales. That money will help fund more wishes and the goodwill goes on.
If you ask Miles he'll tell you, "I don't have any super powers."
However, he just might. He has inspired his school to hold a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish next week. All the kids will dress as superheroes and Mile's family has set up a fund to help other families.
"They want to help others, so they're setting up a Batkid fund to help the three charities that were most helpful to Miles during his recovery. Now that he's in remission, they want to give back," said Wilson.
The Batkid fund is part of the 49ers Foundation.
Counterfeit Batkid T-shirts
Some real-life villains are using the publicity surrounding Batkid to pull off a devious rip-off.
Some people have been creating counterfeit Batkid t-shirts to sell online and they've been pocketing the cash. The company behind the official project is warning the public not to buy from unauthorized retailers.
Money you pay them will not go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Here is a link to the official t-shirt company.
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