CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- There’s a group of “Superheroes” quietly making an impact, especially for kids in the hospital.
“We’re a collective, man. This is it.”
Tim Brigham formed the Superhero Collective, a non-profit, a 501-C3 and it's Made in Chicago.
“We basically put this together by our own experiences. We’ve had challenges medically with our own children and the truth is I’ve got two healthy kids now, but it never left me. Our experiences when we were in the hospital of how we go about our regular days and don’t know what’s happening behind the closed door of a hospital really messed me up," he said.
WBBM Newsradio spoke with Tim and his wife Melissa.
“I said, ‘hey, I’m going to get a Batman suit and I’m going to go visit kids in the hospital,’” Brigham said.
WBBM Newsradio: Did you think he was nuts when he first came up with this plan? Melissa was asked.
“Yes,” she said. "When your husband says he’s going to dress as Batman, I kind of laughed at it, but I also know his personality and I knew he wasn’t going to stop until it happened.”
Tim and Melissa both said it seemed like fun and games at first, but Tim said, "It became serious."
He talked about being in a hospital.
"Everybody smiles until the doors open," he said.
"When you meet a child who has no hair and they have the most positive outlook on line you realize how foolish you've been, whatever you're worried about."
Melissa recalled the day she fully realized the value of what her husband was doing.
“I was at my own personal bank just doing something with my account and the guy saw that we have the Superhero Collective and he said, ‘I know you, my daughter has leukemia. She still remembers the day that Batman came to the hospital,’ and I think that was the first time it hit me that this actually does something for the kids. They remember it. It brings them joy," Melissa Brigham said.
“It changes you. It changes the person. You see whatever problems you’re dealing with aren’t as bad as what you’re experiencing at the moment. It almost changes your outlook on life. I’m never going to stop. If it’s got value, I’m in," Tim Brigham said.
It’s not just Batman anymore and not just visits to children’s hospitals.
On the day WBBM Newsradio met with Tim and Melissa, a couple dozen volunteers were rehabbing a house that would be donated to a family.