By Hailey Daniels
Pulaski News
PULASKI – Anthony Clark is on a mission to help bring smiles to young hospital patients.
It was a journey that started in 2015 after finding out about Colton’s Cure, a foundation built in the memory of Colton Steinhorst, a young boy who died from cancer.
Clark said it was Steinhorst’s wish for Wisconsin to have a visiting Batman.
He said this sparked his interest, hitting home to his experiences earlier in the year.
“My daughter, when she was 15, was undergoing her third heart operation,” Clark said. “She was bored, and asked the nurses for something to color. The nurses returned to the room with a coloring page and a box of four crayons, the ones that they give out in restaurants. I remember it very well, there were two whites, a blue and a pink.”
The nurse said whatever was donated, was all that they had.
Clark said that experience stuck with him, and only further fueled his idea.
And the Wisconsin Knight was born.
Clark purchased a Batman suit, an exact replica of the one worn in The Dark Knight, for nearly $5,000, and made his first appearance as the Dark Knight in 2019.
“You’ll light up the room, because you’re the hero,” he said. “You could be Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman or even Barney, back in my day. These kids are stuck in a hospital bed, getting needles poked in them every day. You’d be amazed what just a simple box of crayons and a coloring book can do. If I can make their day just a bit better, it’s all worth it.”
Even out of costume, Clark said he uses spare cash to purchase coloring books and crayons to bring to children in hospital rooms.
He said it became his goal to improve their days in any way he could.
“The kids there didn’t want me to leave,” Clark said. “They wouldn’t leave my daughter (dressed as Robin) alone. Nothing but smiling faces, and that’s the point.”
Before COVID, he said he had planned to visit the Milwaukee Children’s Hospital, but pandemic-related restrictions put that on hold.
Clark said he plans to visit as soon as he can.
“If I have to stand outside a window, or be six feet away from those kids to make them happy, I will,” he said. “Every time I fill up a duffle bag with teddy bears, blankets, puzzles, coloring books and action figures, I’ve got to believe that I’m making a difference. I am bringing smiles to those children. I am making them happy, even if just a little bit. Just making them feel slightly better. Taking their mind off of the fact that they’re stuck in a room, with a TV they’re sick of watching. They can just use their imagination to color a picture, or draw their favorite superhero or princess.”
Clark said others across the country are doing similar things.
Clark said one of his main inspirations is the late Lenny Robinson, the Baltimore Batman.
“He really was amazing, and he touched so many lives,” Clark said. “I must have sat in front of my TV watching his videos for hours upon hours, just watching what he did and the kids’ reactions. There was one video I saw, and it really affected me. There was this little boy, just out of back surgery. He could barely stand. When that boy saw Batman in front of him, he walked to him across the hall. His mom was crying, because her little boy was walking. It was just an amazing thing. That video was the spark that really started the flame.”
Clark said most of his donations come from Pulaski.
Donations can be made to The Wisconsin Knight via Facebook.
Clark said he is looking for sponsors to help him in his journey, so he can bring smiles to as many children as possible.