a COOL samaritan

Jacob Kroko, 23, was walking through a Walmart parking lot in Fredericksburg, VA when he noticed an envelope lying unattended. He picked the envelope up and was pleasantly surprised to find $1,000 in it. Jacob expresses the thought that was racing through his mind, "I could leave right now and I'm a thousand dollars richer." It didn't take long for him to have another thought, "What if I lost that money?" Jacob ended up walking the envelope with all the money still in it to the local police station. The police recognized Jacob's honesty on their blog and many locals are applauding his decision to do the cool thing. Here's to Jacob Kroko for being honest-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL! What would you do if you found an envelope with a substantial amount of money in it? How hard would it be to attempt to return it to the rightful owner?

a COOL week

February 11th through February 17th marks Random Acts of Kindness week. What a great week to get out, meet people, get out of the winter funk, and most importantly brighten someone's day with the smallest or biggest random act of kindness. If you need ideas visit the Random Act of Kindness Foundation's website www.randomactsofkindness.org. The Foundation "is an internationally recognized non-profit organization founded upon the powerful belief in kindness and dedicated to providing resources and tools that encourage acts of kindness." On their site you can take a few minutes to read random acts of kindness stories or share your own. You can also read below and see some of the ideas the Foundation has for each day of the week. Here's to all of you that perform Rand Acts of Kindness this week and so on-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL! Monday, Feb 11—Smile at 10 strangers. Tuesday, Feb 12—Buy something for the person in the line behind you. Wednesday, Feb 13—Reach out to someone you haven't talked to in a while. Thursday, Feb 14—Bring a treat to a neighbor or your co-workers. Friday, Feb 15—Donate your time or money to a local charity. Saturday, Feb 16—Cook a healthy meal. Sunday, Feb 17—Let someone go in front of you in line. What does kindness mean to you? Tell of a time when you performed or received a random act of kindness.

a COOL mystery

This past Saturday, the Horry County Literacy Council in Myrtle Beach, SC held its primary annual fundraiser to bring awareness to the importance of reading and literacy. The Literacy Council held its seventh annual murder mystery dinner "Hulas and Homicide." To help make the mystery dinner a success a variety of local personalities signed up for roles in the play including a crew from WPDE-TV 15's news division. Joel Allen, a local reporter for WPDE enjoyed playing the role of detective in the mystery and loved having fun for a good cause, "It's something we all believe in, because reading and literacy are a real important cause for me, and for all of us." He expresses that the literacy council does a great job of trying to spread the love of reading around and realizes the impact reading could have on society, "I think if we could get more kids hooked on reading, instead of bullying and fighting, this would be a better world." Here's to Joel Allen and the rest of the cast that helped make "Hulas and Homicide" a successful fundraiser for the Horry Literacy Council in Myrtle Beach, SC-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL! Would you play a role in play for what you felt was an important cause? What are your thoughts on reading making the world a better place?

a COOL champion

50-year-old Master Monua Cary, a former world jujitsu champion and Martial Arts Hall of Famer is offering free women's self-protection classes while she is in Billngs, MT helping to care for her 25-year-old son as he undergoes chemotherapy for Hodgkins Lymphoma. She feels it is a way to give back to her son's community while she is there over the next six months. Master Monua expresses that the workshops will teach women the importance of being aware of their surroundings and how to avoid potential assualts, "Women will learn techniques that could save their lives." She also believes that it is important that women don't view themselves at victims, "When you plant that seed in your head it sets you back both emotionally and psychologically. Thinking of yourself as a victim or potential victim, it puts you in a standpoint of loss." She is also a firm believer that the best way to effectively protect yourself is to be proactive and to be prepared both mentally and physically, "It's not just about technicality, it's about what's in (the heart). When your heart and mind come together, coupled with technicality, that's when total awareness can happen." Cary's classes will be available to women of all ages and experience levels. They will instruct women on the hands-on skills of self-protection as well as techniques and principles to help reduce the risk of being assualted. Master Cary has a goal that goes well beyond teaching self-defense,"My goal is to help build basic concepts of honor, integrity, loyalty, and courage into humanity. I believe this is the legacy we should leave to our future generations." Here's to Master Monua Cary for practicing what she teaches-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL! Would you take one of Master Cary's free classes if you lived in Billings, MT? What do you think of the basic concepts of honor, integrity, loyalty, and courage?

COOL beer

This past Sunday, Altoona Community Theatre (ACT) hosted a SeptemBeerfest at the local Lakemont Park Picnic Pavilions. All monies raised go to the ACT's upcoming 2012-2013 season. Entertainment was provided by the Hurricanes while others were able to enjoy pre-game Steeler action at another tent. It was a wonderful event that provided lots of fun for those that attended and helped raise money so that more will be able to be done with the theatre in the future. Breweries that poured beer for the fundraiser included:Crispin Cider, Henry Weinhard's, Magic Hat, Shock Top, Duquense, Yuengling, and McSorley's. The theatre gets a big boost from fundraisers like this and helps them to continue to operate. ACT Operations Manager Steven C. Helsel states, “All non-profit arts groups depend on fund-raising projects to help provide operating income. Because our performance year opens at a time when beer-makers are featuring new and popular seasonal brews, we thought a tasting afternoon the week of our opening show would be a great kickoff. And Lakemont Park, although shut down by then for the year, is working with us to meet all of our needs and provides a great outdoor venue with covered pavilions should the weather not cooperate.” Here's to the Altoona Community Theatre and the breweries that helped make this event a success and providing a community a place to enjoy plays and the arts-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL! How do you enjoy or support the arts?

COOL swimmers

For Swim Across America, 2012 marks its 25th year in existance. [SAA] "is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events." The past 25 years have seen SAA's swimming events expand from one single event in Nantucket, MA to dozens of events that reach across the U.S. starting in New York to California. This year the organization looks to help people all over the country sponsor and hold their own pool swims. Over the past 25 years SAA has been able to raise over $40 million for cancer research, prevention, and treatment. The money has helped support institutes in Boston, NYC, Tampa, Dallas, and Oakland, CA to name a few. This year's events will bring together recreational swimmers to competive swimmers who have competed in the Olympics. Also, hundreds of volunteers will be giving their time to pursue a cure for cancer. Ranging in ages from 4 to 78, more than 4,000 swimmers will participate in these swim events across America. Remember, you don't have to be a swimmer to help "Make Wave to Fight Cancer" with Swim Across America. You can volunteer, donate money, or just cheer on a love one as he/she swims in an event. Here's to all the swimmer, volunteers, donators, and family and friends who help make Swim Across America a success every year-keep swimmming, stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL! To learn more please visit: www.swimacrossamerica.org What are your thoughts about "Swim Across America" and their efforts to fund cancer research?

COOL listeners

5-year-old Stanton and his friend Faith sat patiently while a 4-year-old girl curled up next to them and read from her favorite book. They sat for a long time while 20 other children read to them. The only sign that one could tell they were really enjoying themselves was the way their tails wagged as each child read their favorite story.

Stanton and Faith are a part of the national Read to a Dog Program. The program introduces children to dogs while they sit and read to them. Parents who either knew about the program or ones who stumbled upon it were pleased with the concept. Jennifer York, mother to 3-year-old Betsy, woke to find her daughter practicing reading prior to going to the library for the event, "It's never too early to get children started on reading books and I love that it encourages kids to read by letting them interact with animals. I wish there had been a program like this when I was growing up."

4-year-old Violet Lewis was apprehensive about reading to such large dogs but was glad she did, "I could tell he liked the book because he was wagging his tail. He was a good listener and a nice dog." Violet's mother, Amy, appreciated the chance for her to be up close with such a large dog, "It was good for her to be in a controlled environment with a large dog who was so well-behaved."

Mary Letourneau, Stanton's owner, was overjoyed to see how much the children appeared to connect with him. They have been a part of the program for over three years, "It's so rewarding to see children gaining confidence by reading to these dogs. And Stanton enjoys being entertained by these kids so much. His tail never stops wagging."

Here's to the dogs, as well as their owners, who sit so patiently while children read to them and gain confidence-keep your tails wagging-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

What do you think of the "Read to a Dog Program" and how the children respond to it?