By Andrea Mandell
USA TODAY
Batkid's back!
But this time, he's directing his powers toward helping other kids.
Five-year-old Miles Scott - most commonly known as Batkid - saw hisdream come truelast month when the
On Saturday, Scott, in remission from leukemia, donned his miniature mask again, this time to pay the favor forward for other children Make-A-Wish hoped to help.
For the foundation'sseventh annualBrave the Bay fundraiser, Batkid arrived at 8:30 a.m. by police escort and led a 5K race of volunteers decked cheerfully in reindeer outfits and
The holiday event was launched in 2007 with the police department, but Batkid's presence has "drawn a lot of attention to this event," says Make-A-Wish spokesperson Jen Wilson. So far the foundation has received $88,000 in donations for the Brave the Bay fundraiser, an increase from roughly $70,000 raised last year.
"In the past we haven't had media attention for this event, at all. Today we have every local network here, we have radio stations, we have the
Although Batkid was expected to demonstrate the cable car pull, Wilson said the superhero needed a bit of a break. "He was feeling a bit shy," she says. "We excused him from his duties."
Meanwhile, Twitter lit up with excitement at Batkid's return.
"trying to see batkid today whoop," wrote user @FEELEESHA.
"Couldn't get the phone out fast enough but I TOTALLY just saw Batkid's Lamborghini Batmobile at Masonic & Geary," wrote @scalawag.
Miles lives in
"His parents felt strongly after his wish was over that they wanted to do something to help others, and so they startedthe Batkid Fund, which will benefit three non-profits who helped him during his illness (including Make-A-Wish)," Wilson says. "They really felt like they wanted to share and have it not be solely focused on him."