4K+ Letters Written To Help Man With Down Syndrome Meet 'Ellen'

CENTER MORICHES, NY — Keith Caputo, a man living with Down syndrome, has a dream: to appear on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and dance with Ellen herself — and, after an appeal for letters from the public to help make that dream come true, the community that Keith has spent a lifetime helping has turned out in droves to support him.

Keith is a familiar face in Center Moriches, helping all who need a hand: Caputo is founder and board member of the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization "Helping Makes U Happy," which aims to show how every human is capable of making a difference through volunteering. Every year, he organizes scores of events to raise funds and collect food and clothing for those in need.

The love Keith gives freely came pouring back this weekend, when thousands wrote letters to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

According to Keith's mother Cassy Caputo, a group gathered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Nettie's Country Bakery in Center Moriches on Sunday, where letters and yellow envelopes were put out all weekend for customers. "I’ve been coming home to packets of letters and boxes of letters every time I leave the house," she said.

The letter writing campaign, she added this week, was a huge success. "I just finished totaling up the number of letters I know of that have been sent — 4,625!" Cassy told Patch this week.

Keith even has a hashtag, #getkeithonellen; a Facebook page,"Get Keith Caputo on Ellen"; and a community rallying to help him meet DeGeneres, especially now that his 40th birthday is coming soon.

"Keith asks me often if he will ever get to meet her, and I told him I will do my best, that I hope it would happen this year," Caputo said. "Everyone should have a dream, and he shouldn't give up on his."

Despite years of outreach, Caputo said she really believes no one has reached the right contact yet at the show.

"He'd make a great guest," she said. "He's funny, charming, not shy, and all he wants in life is to keep helping people. He inspires people."

Her son even has a pair of customized "Helping Makes You Happy" underwear to give Ellen, should they meet, Caputo laughed.

On Saturday, she said, the Catholic Faith Network included her son on a live telethon. "They invited Keith to be on in the hopes that someone with an Ellen connection will see him," she said.

That transpired because the fifth-grade class at Our Lady Queen of the Apostles Regional Catholic School in Center Moriches "has dedicated this year to helping us help others," Caputo said.

A student in the class, Ryan O'Donoghue, who has never even met her son, was so inspired by Keith that he went to Monsignor James Vlaun about his desire to help Keith achieve his dream, Caputo said. "His mom told me he's usually very shy," she said. "But he heard Keith speak to his class and was so inspired to step outside the box to try to help him. Which, of course, is Keith's mission, to inspire people to want to help others."

For six years, she said, her son has never stopped believing in his wish to meet DeGeneres, even as he's continued to raise funds for those in need in the community through auctions, events and holiday initiatives.

And now, Caputo has turned to social media to ask the community to help make her son's dream a reality.

"Hello, friends of mine, and friends of Keith's! I'm posting to ask for your help. As you know, Keith Caputo has a dream— to meet Ellen DeGeneres," she said. "I'm going to focus on doing what I can — hopefully with your help — to try to make that dream happen this year. Keith has a big birthday this year, the big 4-0, and he wants nothing more than to keep doing things and raising money to help people. No gifts, just that. But meeting Ellen would be amazing for him. He wants to dance with her and to talk with her about helping others."

She added that one of Keith's Facebook friends suggested they all pick one day and reach out to Ellen about Keith through social media. "I think that's a great idea, and to that end I'd like to ask you to help me, on Valentine's Day, to reach out to Ellen DeGeneres by whatever means and tell her 'C'mon, Ellen, show Keith some love!'"

Another idea was to use the bright yellow envelopes to write to DeGeneres' show.

Over the past six years, many have written to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Caputo said. Suffolk County Legislator Rudy Sunderman sent "a beautiful letter" last year; a local band Souled Out made a video a few years ago specifically geared toward his quest to meet her; and packages have been sent.

The clock could be ticking, Caputo said. "Statistics show that many people with Down syndrome have Alzheimer's in their 50s. Some of his peers already do. There's a chromosomal link. That's one of the reasons I'm perfectly willing to let him keep running me ragged — and what better way than helping people — hoping an active mind keeps that at bay. He's going to be 40 this year, and I'm going to be 65. I'd like to see him on the show while we can both still remember it. I love this kid with all my heart. He's a true gift."

And, she said, the week following Valentine's Day is Random Acts of Kindness Week — "the perfect time for Ellen to invite him on her show."