For the ninth consecutive year, PLEA Charities and Phoenix Police Officer Sean Reavie teamed up with Target store manager Jennifer Trevor to empower abused children through the Superhero Shopping Spree. Superheroes from Reavie’s Put on the Cape Foundation shopped alongside supervisors, detectives and civilian staff from the Chandler and Scottsdale Family Advocacy Centers to purchase much-needed supplies for their victim children.
“This was one of the biggest events we’ve had,” Reavie says. “Nearly $7,000 was spent from money donated by PLEA Charities.”
Customers in the store, surprised by the colorfully costumed team of superheroes, donated money, bought items and asked for photos with their favorite characters. Smiling children (and adults) posed with Batman, Captain America, Spider-Punk, Wolverine, Nightwing, Spider-Gwen and many others. Twelve shopping carts overflowed with items from each center’s wish lists, stuffed full by the superheroes and detectives.
“It was amazing to see,” Reavie says. “This is real impact. Each item was taken back to the Chandler and Scottsdale centers to give to those who need it the most.”
The Superhero Shopping Spree, the brainchild of Reavie, was first made possible by PLEA Charities and Trevor in 2015. A detective in the Crimes Against Children Unit, Reavie had introduced superhero mythology to a 9-year-old victim, completely changing his emotions from sad to happy. Now trusting him, the child told Reavie who abused him, leading to an arrest. That moment led to the first Superhero September event on September 1, 2015. During that event, then-PLEA Secretary Frank Marino and President Ken Crane donated $500 to Reavie’s cause. Seeing the event on television, Target store manager Trevor contacted Reavie, donating a $250 Target gift card.
Combining the two amounts, Reavie took Captain America and Black Widow to Trevor’s store for the very first Superhero Shopping Spree.
“Without PLEA Charities donating that money, I had no plans to have another event that year,” Reavie says. “Now, we have four shopping sprees a year, donating tens of thousands of dollars to help centers care for their child victims.”
For Chandler FAC director Katie Cain, the event is a lifesaver.
“We literally had one basket of items left,” Cain says. “We cannot thank Sean with Put on the Cape and PLEA Charities enough for the work they do to care for our victims.”
PLEA Charities was the first sponsor for what turned into a national charitable foundation and led to Reavie receiving local, state, national and international recognition for his philanthropy. Inducted into “Who’s Who in America” in 2022, Reavie received a Lifetime Achievement Award in child advocacy this year.
“I’ve been fortunate,” Reavie says. “Fortunate to have PLEA Charities believe in my mission from the beginning.” He added that PLEA Charities opened the door for companies such as Allstate, Paychex, Lerner and Rowe, Waste Management, UPS, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Arizona Cardinals to support his foundation.
With events Valley-wide, Put on the Cape promotes 5K runs, golf tournaments, car shows and the legacy Superhero Shopping Sprees, donating nearly $500,000 to help abused children in their recovery.
“I can’t thank Darrell, John, Santos, Yvette and many others from PLEA Charities enough for supplying the foundation for me to build my mission,” Reavie says. “It’s been a fantastic partnership.”
