Civitron & Providence Roller Derby

Civitron Joins Providence Roller Derby in Making a Difference

by Matt Hall

Providence, RI – May 29, 2010 – At last night’s Providence Roller Derby season opener, costumed superhero Civitron was present spreading the word about his newest venture — heroic100.org; a website aimed at helping everyday folks change the social climate both locally and nationally.

Civitron is a hero. If you have never seen him in full costume then the six-foot-two, spandex-clad, real-life superhero appears to be quite intimidating. That is until he flashes his trademark toothy grin and begins telling you how passionate he is about helping people. Civitron — or Civi, as he is know by his friends — is a driving force in the real life superhero movement. When he first began handing out water and blankets to the homeless community in New Bedford, MA, he was regarded as crazy. That level of insanity has viably manifested itself in the launch of new website heroic100.org.

“The Heroic 100 is an initiative designed to inspire people to do heroic things on every level,” He explains. “We’re trying to make real changes out there. It’s easy to think about doing something good, or heroic, but to actually put it in practice, that takes guts.” The initiative’s main points involve 100 acts of random heroism, posted to the website which invites surfers to engage in those acts. They are then asked to provide photos, videos or podcasts of their participation for involvement in the website content.

The key to the Heroic 100′s effort is in its easy accessibility to everyday people. The website boasts that anyone can participate and encourages just that. “You don’t have to wear a costume to do something heroic. You don’t have to dress in spandex and own it the way I own it,” Civitron explains, “You just have to do SOMETHING. Even if it’s something little it can affect so much.” It is this logic that seems to be garnering excellent support.

The newest supporters, the Providence Roller Derby is hot on the heels of Civitron and his organization, allowing the freedom to spread awareness with public appearances at its roller derby events. Last night’s bout between The Old Money Honeys and the Sakonnet River Roller Rats had members of the organization passing out fliers and buttons and allowed the children in attendance to create their own superhero masks.

Through talks with The Roller Rats’ Hellcat Lucy, Trophy Knife and the rest of the Providence Roller Derby league, the Heroic 100 is gaining ground with important focal points and fund-raising efforts in the Providence art community. The subculture has embraced the idea of making a sincere effort to cause a global social climate change.

Though Civitron’s costume may not provide super strength or the power of flight, his ability to gather buy-in from local Providence and Massachusetts pillars seems to be a super power in itself. Already on board with the message are Bert Crenca of the artisan organization AS220, and real-life superheroes Text, Basilisk, Poseidon and Nighthawk. They have also garnered the support of local friend and fundraiser Sara Brainard. Their aim is to bring focus to the projects that the Heroic 100 presents. Further on, the possibility of becoming a full-fledged nonprofit organization looms.

Civitron hopes that with other similarly-minded organizations on board, that possibility will soon become a reality. By developing this project he has single-handedly tasked normal citizens with community and social development. That sort of challenge is often looked upon with fervor by activists and citizens alike. It also eliminates an apathetic attitude toward others in the community. And though a costume isn’t the antithesis to apathy, sometimes, it does help.

Matt Hall is a freelance writer from the Boston area and an avid supporter of local community activism.

Team Civitron Walks for Hunger

Sunday, February 21, 2010 – On Sunday, May 2nd, I will be participating in Project Bread’s 2010 Walk for Hunger. This is my fifth Walk for Hunger. My first walk was in 1989. Eighteen years later, my three-year old son made the commitment to join the fight against hunger and a family tradition was born! Since then, we have cultivated a superheroic team of friends and family to suit up and tighten our laces against the injustice of tightening belts around hungry bellies. I hope that you will support me and my team in our efforts to raise money to help end hunger in Massachusetts!

That’s my son and me (upper left), posing at the 10 mile checkpoint. He doesn’t usually look like that. He’s just really really tired. We all were tired and hungry. Then, Super-Scott’s shoe exploded! But we didn’t let the damp weather dampen our spirits. We pressed on with visions of cheeseburgers, dancing in our heads

Why am I walking? I’m walking because many Massachusetts families are seeing their monthly income stretched beyond capacity. They are forced to go without food in order to pay their rent, utility, and medical bills. The demand for emergency food has never been greater with pantries and meal programs supported by Project Bread serving 57.3 million meals last year alone. Hunger is not just an urban problem — it exists in nearly every community throughout the state.

The money that I raise by walking as much as I can of the 20-mile route will directly help hungry people. Funds raised through the Walk support more than 400 emergency food programs in 135 communities statewide.

Who is hungry? Hunger affects more than 554,000 people in Massachusetts, including the state’s most vulnerable citizens — children, the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed.

Hunger also affects the working poor, who use more and more of their income to pay rent, heating oil, medical care, and childcare. Both children and the elderly are disproportionately represented at emergency food programs funded by Project Bread. In low-income communities throughout the state, one child in three lives in a family that struggles to put food on the table.

Please donate to my Walk to help me make a difference and reach my personal fundraising goal. Thank you for your support of me and of hungry people.

Together we CAN make a difference!

About The Walk for Hunger

Since 1969, Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger has provided critical resources for hungry children and families in Massachusetts. Today, The Walk for Hunger is the oldest continual pledge walk in the country, and the largest annual one-day fundraiser to alleviate local hunger.

Money raised through The Walk for Hunger funds more than 400 food pantries, soup kitchens, food banks, and food salvage programs in 135 communities across Massachusetts.

The Walk for Hunger is held on the first Sunday in May every year. The 20-mile Walk route weaves through Boston, Brookline, Newton, and Cambridge.

About Project Bread

As the state’s leading antihunger organization, Project Bread is dedicated to alleviating, preventing, and ultimately ending hunger in Massachusetts. In addition to organizing the annual Walk for Hunger and supporting emergency food programs statewide, Project Bread also advocates systematic solutions that prevent hunger in children and that provide food to families in everyday settings.

About Civitron

As the premier real-life superhero/costumed activist in Massachusetts, Civitron endeavors to battle hunger and poverty, while protecting the world from imagination gentrification. His mission represents a reclamation of the creative spirit and true self-expression. He works with an amazing team of heroes, dedicated to making the world a better place through community outreach, fundraising and inspirational events. In the spring, Civitron and friends will begin work on a new series of ongoing events and workshops designed to spark creativity and empower your superhero potential!

For more information about hunger in Massachusetts and how you can help, please visit www.projectbread.org/goto/civitron

Much of this article was provided for my Personal Walk Page by the lovely and talented people at Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger. We love them and all that they do. Thanks! Visit them at www.projectbread.org or follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/walkforhunger. If you have any difficulty accessing any links on this blog, please contact me directly at civitronx@gmail.com

My 6-Year Old is My Favorite Superhero

A few months ago, my son, Elliott (aka Mad Owl) began a collection jar to fund a trip to Disney World. He saw a commercial for a vacation package and thought, "I'd better start saving!" So, he found an old mason jar, slapped a hand-drawn sticker on it and began soliciting for donations from friends, family members, our family hair-stylist, the guys at the burrito shop and unwitting passersby. "I'm going to Disney World. Would you like to give me some money?" His tenacity was admirable and inspiring.

Unbeknown to our son, my partner, Jennifer and I discussed our options and decided that a vacation was in order but before we could announce the news, his plans had changed. His tactics had changed and the Disney sticker was gone, replaced with a new one. Scrawled out in red marker by his geniously guided southpaw it read, "Money for Children's Hospital".

"I was thinking about the kids we visited in the hospital, last year." he recalled our trip to St. Mary's Children's Hospital, in New York. We brought gifts and played with the kids for an afternoon. "I want to do that, again."

So, the Mad Owl is on a mission. He wants to help "all kids who need it", he humbly stated one recent afternoon, as he counted the funds in his collection jar. This means I must help and guide him through the process but more importantly my job is to support his choices. And why not? It's pretty obvious he makes good ones. He's a superhero, after all.

Now, the challenge becomes, "How do we give?"

We some quick internet investigation, and discovered Hasbro Children's Hospital has a couple ways to donate. The first way to give is through a simple form on their website. It even includes a space to specify how you want them to use the money. Awesome! The second way is to purchase gifts for the kids and they provide a fantastic "Wish List" to guide you. Double awesome!! Plus, it's right in our local, Southern New England neighborhood.

He decided that this would be a great way to start our mission to bring a little sunshine to the lives of children in need and chose to donate the money with the request that it goes toward research. If you want to help our young hero in his mission, please email me at civitronx@gmail.com for instructions or visit www.lifespan.org/hch for more information on Hasbro's Children's Hospital and ways you can get involved.

"Super Friends" by Tea Krulos (Boston Phoenix)

THWAK! I swing with my right fist, trying to connect with my opponent's face. In a smooth motion, he deflects my punch with his forearm, which is protected with a black and metallic-plastic arm gauntlet. I swing with my left fist, and am again knocked away effortlessly. I can see my reflection in his sunglasses, framed in white. He smiles and smoothes out his red and white spandex shirt — adorned with a letter "C," a flame shooting out of the top — and then crouches into a fighting stance.

"Oh, no," I think. "I'm about to get my ass kicked by a Lycra-wearing superhero."

This non-caped crusader goes by the name of Civitron, and lucky for me, our combat is not a battle royale to the death. Rather, we are sparring at Rebelo's Kenpo Karate, in New Bedford, where Civitron has trained under sensei Joseph "Kenpo Joe" Rebelo on and off for more than 10 years. We aren't alone.

Twelve other "real-life superheroes," striking and grappling, are crowded into the dojo for a martial-arts workshop led by Rebelo (who, despite his superhero-sounding last name, is not a member of this tribe). The heroes have flown in — by plane — from all over the country to take part in a three-day conference called "Superheroes Anonymous," which is akin to a modern-day Justice League confab. They are wearing a multi-hued rainbow of spandex costumes, but there is also an emphasis on "real." These aren't the chiseled matinee-idol muscle men and women of the comics pages — more like the people with whom you ride the bus. Yes, some are athletic and tall, but some are short with pot bellies. It's doubtful these heroes will put the fear of God into real-life hoodlums, let alone the Penguin or Dr. Octopus.

"We come in all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, and beliefs," says Civitron. (In the tradition of protecting a superhero's alter ego, these heroes agreed to speak with the Phoenix as long as we could assure them their secret identities would be safe.) There is Nyx, a curvy New Jersey woman, dressed in gray leotards with a red dust mask covering her lower face. She is sparring against Zimmer, who has just arrived from Austin. Zimmer, short and wiry, wears a spandex shirt, the binary code for the letter "Z" streaming down one side. Zetaman traveled from Portland, Oregon, with a suitcase full of bulky blue plastic armor (superheroes of other eras never had to get their costumes through airport security). Scavenger has on a black mask and corset; black plastic streamers hang from her arms. Her main focus, superhero-wise, is picking up litter in Waterbury, Connecticut, where she has traveled from with her friend, the mountainous Runebringer. He is wrapped in a large gray coat with runic characters decorating his chest.

Read more: http://thephoenix.com/boston/life/94281-super-frie/#ixzz1VojOO9zb