Akron's Wonder Woman takes on New York City : Inside Children's Blog

Debby Rowland with Hoda Kotb

As her 70^th birthday approached, Debby Rowland decided the place she most wanted to celebrate her milestone was at The Today Show in New York City.

Debby is a big fan of the show and it was a story on The Today Show that gave her the idea to create a non-profit organization that has become her passion and calling. She is the founder of Kids Capes of Courage, which brings together volunteers who sew adorable “super hero” style capes for patients at Akron Children’s Hospital.

Just a few of the capes from Kids Capes of Courage.

“One morning while watching The Today Show, they did a segment on a Seattle woman who started making super hero capes for babies and kids fighting terminal illnesses,” recalled Debby. “One of the little girls interviewed said wearing the cape made her feel brave. I thought to myself ‘I can do that’ – I thought it was a beautiful idea.”

Thousands of capes have been donated to Akron Children’s, as well as schools, camps and other groups.

Maddie Harrison has 2 capes from Debby. The first one from 2015 got her through 4 surgeries. The 11-year-old said she feels like “Captain Strong” when she wears the cape. Read more

Debby gave Maddie her second cape in January.

Debby has steadily grown her roster of volunteers and now receives fabric donations from Jo-Ann Fabrics since starting Kids Capes of Courage in 2013.

So as her June 18 birthday approached, Debby made plans to visit The Today Show Plaza and do everything she could to meet members of the Today Show team. That included making signs, dressing up like Wonder Woman and packing capes in gifts bags for anchors Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie and Dylan Dreyer, who all have babies or young children.