COOL angels

Its never been easier to know an angel here on earth or to become one yourself. To become an angel all that one must do is send a letter or card once a week and a small care package once a month to a deployed member of the United States military.

Soldiers' Angels is a non-profit organization providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their families. It was started by Patti Patton-Bader, a self proclaimed ordinary mother, who has had two sons deployed to Iraq over the years.

While on deployment in 2003 her oldest son, Brandon, explained his concerns to his mother that some of his fellow soldiers never received any mail or care packages from home. Patti vowed to not let a situation like this continue and contacted friends and family to see if they would be interested in supporting a soldier or two on deployment. Before long, Soldiers' Angels became an Internet community with thousands of angels around the world and reorganized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2004.

Soldiers' Angels volunteers have not stopped at sending over hundreds of thousands of letters and care packages to service members deployed all over the world, they have sent First Aid Packages to the wounded at various military hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as stateside, they have provided emergency aid to military families in need, and have provided technology that helps assist the severely wounded such as voice-controlled/adaptive laptops. Other efforts have helped provide Kevlar armored blankets for vehicles and flights to soldiers or members of their families when needed as well as other services that help to honor and uphold the memories of those that have sacrificed the ultimate price for the freedom and safety of us here at home.

Here's to you Patti Patton-Bader and the rest of the Soldiers' Angels that walk among us here on earth, keep up your COOL efforts to assure those soldiers deployed that they are not forgotten back home and are much appreciated-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

For more information about these angels please visit them at:

http://soldiersangels.org

What do you think of Soldiers' Angels and their efforts to provide aid and comfort to United States Military members deployed around the world? Do you think you would like to be a member of Soldiers' Angels?

COOL wings

When Marla Zack of West Burbank, CA was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago she was determined to beat it. Marla had lost her mother, stepmother, an aunt, and several friends to the disease and knew her outcome was going to be different, "It was like a light bulb went on, I went into survival mode. I needed to see someone beat this disease, and it became clear that I was going to be the one to beat it."

After being diagnosed during an annual checkup with her doctor, Marla ended up going through a bilateral mastectomy, chemotherapy, and a hysterectomy after the cancer spread to her lymph nodes and now that she is cancer free she is not waiting until the five-year mark to proclaim herself a survivor, "I felt like a survivor straight away because the cancer was no longer in my body."

She now finds herself, after reconstructive surgery, working hard to bring awareness to the disease and raising money for cancer charities along the way. She is focused on a jewelry business she started that is dedicated to cancer patients, survivors, and their loved ones.

She went to a jeweler friend after she created a picture of a butterfly around the breast cancer ribbon, calling it "WINGS OF COURAGE", and asked her to make it into a pendant. The friend, Laura Elizabeth, taught her how to make it herself. Marla's husband, Michael, presented the idea of stamping the word "believe" on the back of the pendant and her son, Sullivan, helped pick out the chain.

The handmade pendants can be bought on her website, www.wingsofcouragebelieve.com, for $100 with 20% of the proceeds being split between Young Survival Coalition and weSPARK Cancer Support Center. Here's to you Marla for having a can't be beat attitude, for giving back to those in need, and inspiring others to do the same-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

What do you think of Marla's attitude to survive breast cancer and her efforts to raise awareness of it and money for cancer charities?

a COOL bike ride

Cyclists involved in this year's Journey of Hope ride took off in June from San Francisco, CA and Seattle, WA heading towards Washington D.C. where they will dismount in August after thousands of miles traveled. Journey of Hope, created by Push America, is the largest fraternal fundraising and awareness event of its kind comprised solely of members (current and alumni) of Pi Kappa Phi from universities around the U.S. This COOL event raises money and awareness for people with disabilities.

The inaugural ride, in 1988, raised $20,000 and has now expanded to three different routes, all ending in D.C., and annually raises over $500,000. The cyclists average 75 miles a day but bike riding isn't the only way they give back. Along the way they visit local groups, in the 32 different states they pass through, that support people with disabilities, take part in a game of wheelchair basketball, educate children on the abilities of people with disabilities, and learn life lessons that remain with them long after the journey has concluded.

Brad Ray, a wheelchair athlete who hopes to make the 2012 Paralympics in London, expresses that it means a lot to have Journey of Hope raise money for their activities, "It' super important, our equipment is super expensive."

Joey Stassi, 21 and a cyclist, expresses that the summer fundraiser was the main reason he joined the fraternity, "It was the idea of riding your bike across the country and making a big difference in people's lives. The riders get as much out of their encounters with people with disabilities as they do."

Here's to you Journey of Hope cyclists-keep riding for a great cause, stay safe, stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

For information on this COOL bike ride please visit: www.pushamerica.org

What do you think of the Journey for Hope ride and its message of acceptance and understanding for people with disabilities?