Sophie Caldecott is a hero and what she accomplished this past week is more inspiring than saving the world or defeating Ultron. I love a feel good story as much as the next person, and this one is a doozy.
In October 2011, her father Stratford Caldecott was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He and his family have persevered through every treatment and now, three years later, the cancer has advanced to the final stages of the disease. Her father is a huge comic fan and often joked that he'd hang on just to see the next Marvel movie release; sadly, he wasn't well enough to make it to the theaters to catch Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So starting last Monday, Sophie launched a simple campaign to get a copy of the movie to her father in his convalescence at home and to bring him some cheer in a difficult time.
From Mashable:
When we started out on Monday evening, all we wanted to do was to make it possible for my father to see ‘The Winter Soldier’ and maybe to get a few superhero selfies to make him chuckle. In under 48 hours our mission was accomplished, and then … we kind of went viral.’
It started with Mark Ruffalo and spread quickly through the entire Avengers cast, then the Agents of SHIELD cast and soon, well wishers from all over the globe came together for the #CapForStrat campaign. As reported on Sophie's blog, in under 48 hours the mission was a rousing success.
"The reason dad has always loved comic heroes and why they are particularly relevant now in this situation is because they inspire hope, and encourage people to fight for the greater good," Sophie wrote. "I think we've witnessed a bit of that child-like purity of spirit and good intentions over the past few days."
While their family takes some time out of the spotlight, Sophie did make it known that they'd like to use their momentum to place awareness on prostate cancer, warning people that prostate cancer doesn't always show up in blood tests, so men over a certain age should get checked out properly if they have any symptoms at all. For more information, see the Movember website.
Check out some of the #CapforStrat images below:
Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth:
