Caps For Kids

To provide every child that is diagnosed and undergoing treatment for cancer or receiving chemotherapy to treat other life threatening illnesses a cap autographed by the athlete, entertainer or other notable celebrity of their choice. To a child who has lost their hair due to chemotherapy treatments, the caps help them establish a special bond with their celebrity hero.

The children gain strength from the autographed caps, and feel as though their celebrity hero is beside them in every treatment and fight in the battle against cancer.

Caps for Kids was founded in 1993 by Dr. Stephen Heinrich, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a clinical professor at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. While treating a young man and fanatic Auburn University fan, Dr. Heinrich gave his patient an autographed cap signed by Terry Bowden, football coach for Auburn University, and Bobby Bowden, football coach for Florida State University. After experiencing the joy a simple hat could bring, Dr. Heinrich organized Caps For Kids to lift the spirits of young cancer patients nationwide.

Dr. Heinrich started with a goal to provide all children receiving chemotherapy at Children's Hospital in New Orleans with an autographed cap by a notable personality. After some publicity, the goal was met, and Caps For Kids began to expand. Today, Caps for Kids has more than 130 chapters across the United States and Canada.

The national organization is run by a full-time staff based in New Orleans, with a volunteer Board of Directors and Advisory Council to help provide leadership and drive the organization's growth.

Today, our one cap, one patient and one smile has turned into tens of thousands of caps, children and countless smiles.

Testimonials

While we send out nearly 1,000 caps annually, the stories below are a small sample of the lives of the children and families we touch every day. With your help we can achieve our goal to put a cap on the head of the more than 10,000 children that are diagnosed with cancer every year. You can view more stories and photos on our website at www.capsforkids.org/capturing-smiles

Tyrie was recently diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia), a rare and fast-growing form of cancer of the blood and bone marrow. She chose Ellen DeGeneres as her Cap Hero because she's funny and "loves to scare people for Halloween by sending her producer and special guests to haunted houses." Tyrie thinks that Ellen is a loving and caring person, which is how she is described by her family and friends. Tyrie describes herself as a person who is always nice to others, never lets anything get her down and always dreams big. She loves to make friends and dreams about going to college, getting a job and buying a house for herself and her parents. "This cap means joy and happiness to me because I didn't believe that Ellen would take the time to sign my cap." We hope Tyrie never stops dreaming big and that her new cap helps keep her smiling.

Michael was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is 2014. He chose the stars of the reality TV show Duck Dynasty as his cap heroes to sign his cap. Michael has many hobbies and loves building with Legos, painting, drawing, reading, sports, video games, camping and fishing. He is described as outgoing, goofy, the class clown, smart, loves to job around and is very loving. Michael selected the stars of Duck Dynasty because they are his all-time favorite and has always dreamed of meeting the cast of the show. His mother said, "This is so special to him. The smile this cap put on Michael's face was priceless to me. How amazing is Caps For Kids and the Duck Dynasty cast! Thank you from the bottom of my heart." We're so happy we could help bring the reality of his cap heroes to life for Michael.

Victoria is receiving treatment for Anaplastic Embryonal RMS, a type of muscular skeletal cancer that is typically diagnosed in young children. She chose Rapunzel from the movie Tangled as her Cap Hero. She loves Rapunzel because she is smart, bold and charismatic. Victoria also likes Rapunzel's love of art, music and dance. Just like Rapunzel, Victoria's family describes her as bubbly and fierce. She is outgoing, which is why people seem to gravitate towards her. In addition, she's social, thoughtful and makes it a point to make others feel loved. Victoria's cap was an unexpected gift and has boosted her spirits knowing that Rapunzel and the healing power of her long hair are with her during her treatment. We hope that her cap signed by Rapunzel helps Victoria create her own sense of adventure.