Arizona middle schoolers that were a part of Greenway Middle School’s “After the Bell” summer program were really looking forward to their field trip. However, funding for their end-of-summer field trip fell through. That’s when School Resource Officer Sean Reavie stepped in.
Using money from his own pocket, Reavie rented out all 144 seats at a local movie theater so the kids could enjoy a screening of Toy Story 5. The movie, the snacks, the sodas, all on him. For many of the kids, it would be their first time ever watching a movie in a theater.
An act of generosity, an act of community
After being contacted by the program director, Katie Jenkins, Reavie didn’t hesitate to spend his own money on the theater rental and treats. The cost added up to nearly $2,000.
“If they needed more, I would have given them more,” Reavie said to 12 News. “You can’t break a promise to a child. They come here knowing that there’s a reward at the end.”
Reavie understood that this trip to the movies was more than it seemed. Greenway Middle School is a Title one school, meaning that the majority of the students came from low-income households. Several of the students qualified for free breakfast and lunch daily from the school. Going to a movie theater was a luxury that most of the kids’ families cannot afford.
“Some of them live in a different life than most of us would comprehend, and they just haven’t seen a lot of good things with their own eyes,” said Reavie. “Their family doesn’t have a car. Parents, if they have two, work multiple jobs. Half of them have never been to a water park before. They’ve never been across the other side of the highway before.”
Prior to the movie, after Officer Reavie explained that he would take care of all expenses, he made just one request to the kids.
“As you get older in life, help other people, as a payback to me,” he told them. “Would you do that? That’s all I ask of you.”
Reavie is a superhero (well, dresses like one sometimes)
This isn’t the first time Reavie helped fund a great experience for local school kids. In 2025, he spent more than $3,000 to take students to Hurricane Harbor water park.
Reavie spent the early years of his police career as a child crimes detective for six years before taking on his current role. Along with that, Reavie started a superhero-inspired charity that supports teen youth programs and child advocacy.
“It dawned on me that little kids who were scared responded to superheroes,” he said. “So I started a superhero-based foundation called Put On The Cape: A Foundation For Hope.”
The Put On The Cape organization has officers and “causeplayers” dress up as superheroes to host events to raise money for children’s causes. Their homepage reads,”Our mission fills the toy closet, food pantry, and clothing wardrobe to the children and their families. This takes the burden off the center so they can focus on healing the child from the trauma they’ve endured.”
With or without a cape, Officer Reavie is setting a great example of giving in order to plant hope in a generation that could grow up to give back tenfold.
