You usually see them taking on the bad guys in your favorite comic books and movies. But on Halloween, your favorite superheroes took a break from their usual crime-fighting duties to spend some time at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego.
For patients at the hospital, smiles are sometimes hard to come by. But on Halloween, it’s a different story.
“He saw them as soon as we were pulling in,” said Jose Luna, whose son is having a procedure done at Rady Children’s on Halloween. “He was all excited. He was over there trying to take pictures, so I grabbed my phone to take pictures with them.”
For the last seven years, crews with A Plus Window Cleaning have spent every Halloween dressing up as superheroes to put a positive spin on the time the young patients spend at the hospital.
"He was excited. He was running up and down,” said Celia Espinoza, whose son was having a check-up in the Oncology Unit.
The costumes employees pick out reflect some of their favorite superheroes, A Plus Window Cleaning said. And this doesn't just happen in San Diego. Window washers dress up in costume for young patients at children's hospitals in cities nationwide.
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In 2022, Rady Children's provided care for 281,924 children — 17,783 were in-patient admissions.
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“They can't go out and celebrate Halloween like other kids, so we bring it to them,” Dennis Dwyer, the owner of A Plus Window Washing, said.
Each year, these local window washers suit up and spend the day with the children.
“We love it when they come up and give us a hug and take pictures with us, and we see them smile a lot. That brings joy to my heart,” Dwyer said.
Captain America, Spiderman, Thor and even Superman were there. Even though it's just washing windows and playing a part, they say that seeing all the faces — young and old — light up makes it worth every second.
“We're going to do this until we're no longer cleaning windows,” Dwyer said.
