It was on May 2, 2016, when two-year old Caleb Lennon Wile passed away in his sleep. And despite a thorough investigation and an autopsy, no cause of death was discovered. Caleb’s life was stopped short due to something called Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, or SUDC.
Bernie Wile, Caleb’s mother, said she helped start The Caleb Effect as a way to emulate her kind and compassionate son, who, in his short life, brought happiness and joy to so many.
Wile said she would have an event on the second of each month, as it was May 2nd when he died. But she said it made more sense to be “Nice on the Ninth” of the month, since Caleb was born on Feb. 9th.
On the ninth, she said they pick a different cause to highlight as well as support the SUDC Foundation. Right now there is no targeted funding for SUDC, which remains a bit of a medical mystery, like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.
“Right now there is no targeted federal funding,” she said. “In the meantime we are trying to raise awareness and raise funds.”
For instance, they recently had a fun run, bringing Caleb Effect supporters together, while for those not near Oklahoma City can connect online.
While it is an Oklahoma-centric organization, Wile said The Caleb Effect has followers in all 50 states and a few foreign countries.
“We’re trying to get the word out,” she said. “We want it to go as far and wide as possible.”
With so much division in the world, Wile said her son would want compassion and kindness to bring people together, as he did in his short, radiant and contagiously happy life, cut short by SUDC.
“Caleb was a master at connecting with people,” Wile said. “We want to spread that (ability to connect) for him. That’s why we call it ‘The Caleb Effect.’”
For more information go to thecalebeffect.org.