6th Grader Signs Own Yearbook, Paul Rudd Responds

Brody Ridder came home from school in Westminster, Colorado on May 24, 2022, with a yearbook that told a heartbreaking story. He'd asked classmates to sign it, but only two students and two teachers had written anything.

On one page, in his own handwriting, Brody had written: "Hope you make some more friends. — Brody Ridder." The sixth grader had signed his own yearbook and wished himself better luck.

His mom Cassandra posted a photo to the school's private Facebook parent group that night. Her message was simple: talk to your kids about kindness.

What happened next caught everyone by surprise. Seventeen-year-old Joanna Cooper saw the post and texted her friends immediately. "We're going to sign his yearbook," she said, "because no kid deserves to feel like that."

Another 11th grader, Simone Lightfoot, had the same reaction. "When I was younger, I was bullied a lot like him," she told reporters.

The upperclassmen walked into Brody's classroom asking for him by name. They didn't just sign their names but asked about his hobbies (chess and fencing) and shared their own experiences of feeling left out.

Once the older kids started signing, something amazing happened. Kids in Brody's own class started getting up from their seats to sign it too.

"It was like a domino effect," Cassandra said. "It was beautiful."

By the end of the day, Brody had collected more than 100 signatures and paragraphs of encouragement. "It just made me feel better as a person," Brody said.

The story spread far beyond Colorado. Letters started arriving at the Ridders' home from across the country and around the world, more than 600 by July, including one dictated by a three-year-old to his mom.

Then Paul Rudd reached out. The actor's sister saw the post and connected them. Rudd FaceTimed Brody and sent a care package with a signed Ant-Man helmet and a handwritten note calling him "the coolest kid there is."

Sunny's Take

This story touches something deep because most of us remember what it felt like to worry about fitting in. Brody's willingness to be vulnerable, writing that message to himself, sparked a chain reaction of kindness that reached around the world. The teenagers who showed up for him proved that empathy never goes out of style.

Cassandra and Brody now partner with The UGLI Foundation, an anti-bullying nonprofit. Cooper, the 11th grader who organized that first visit, pushed for a schoolwide signing event so no student would face an empty yearbook again.

"It made me feel like there's hope for humanity," Cassandra said.