a COOL donation

According to a press release a teen center in the Cambridge, MA area needed an air hockey table. Now, after Cambridge Police Officer Oswaldo Ortiz took action and donated one, the center will no longer be needing to replace it's old one.

Officer Ortiz knew that the center wasn't going to be able to purchase a new one for the kids so he decided to take action, "I decided to buy them a new table that they could use and enjoy."

Officer Ortiz, or "Ozzie" as he is referred to by the kids, is a big part of the Community Relations Unit and interacts with the kids daily in the mornings during the week. This summer he was assigned to the center where 30-40 pre-teens attend and wanted to do something beyond his call of duty, "Their old table had a hole in it and I wanted to do something nice for the kids."

To some, this act of coolness may seem small but to these kids that table could have meant a lot and Officer Ortiz's cool actions send a positive message to them-no act of kindness is small. Here's to you Officer Ortiz for realizing any donation is a cool one-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

What do you think of Officer Ortiz's donation to the teen center?

COOL freshmen

As the school year starts and many new incoming students enter their first year of college one can imagine the anxiety many of them are experiencing. At the University of Evansville, located in Indiana, most of the incoming freshmen decided to work off some of that anxiety by performing service tasks at a variety of places in the city.

The program, optional to the students, took the freshmen to about 20 different sites to help with beautification, cleaning, office tasks, activities, and various other projects. The project isn't just about serving the community, many who participated express that it is a good way for students to meet peers and people in the community, as well as learning about Evansville and what it has to offer.

Freshmen aren't the only ones who lend a hand, "A lot of us continue (service) through the rest of our student career," said Brian Knowles who participated as a freshman two years ago, "I know some people that are alumni and still volunteer."

The University has a great reputation for performing service throughout the community, in 2009 alone its students performed more than 20,000 hours of volunteer service. Geoff Edwards, director of UE's Center for Student Engagement expresses, "We take service seriously, and we highly encourage it. We train to ingrain it into the culture of what it is to be a UE student."

Dana Clayton, Vice President of Student Affairs, states of the service program, "It was a wonderful day to emphasize to our students our commitment to service in the community."

Here's to you freshmen, who more than likely would have been sleeping in and worrying about what the new school year has in store for you. Your commitment to service is much appreciated and sets quite an example to the freshmen of tomorrow, best of luck to you-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

What do you think of the University of Evansville's community service project and the freshmen that participated in it?

a COOL random act of kindness

Now this story might not seem like much to some readers but it truly exemplifies what being cool is all about. A gentleman walking through an Aldi's in East Peoria, IL noticed an elderly man, Ray-93, struggling with picking up a watermelon. The unknown man picked it up for him, put it in his cart, followed him and the man's wife to the check-out, put it on the counter and back into the cart when it was paid for. He continued to follow the older couple to their car and put the watermelon into the trunk. The man left without wanting anything in return, he didn't even give his name to the elderly couple.

The older couple wanted to thank the anonymous gentleman so they shared this random act of kindness with their local newspaper in Peoria, IL. "There are such nice people in the world," they expressed, "we just want to thank the very nice gentleman for being so kind."

Here's to the anonymous gentleman who made the day of an elderly couple with his random act of kindness and wanting nothing in return-stay postive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

What do you think of random acts of kindness? When was the last time you performed a random act of kindness and what was it?

a COOL gang

Looking at the abandoned bicycle racetrack, the Dorais Velodrome, in the northeast section of Detroit one could see a maze of shrubbery, trees, tires, and paint cans without ever imagining that bikes were once ridden there.

That all changed when the Mower Gang showed up one day. The Mower Gang, founded by Tom Nardone, was created to revive unkempt public land in Detroit. This project was their first, "I can't believe that this has been abandoned in time," Tom said as he over looked the track. At first the task seemed daunting as twenty-some years of non-use left the concrete almost completely covered with flora. With donated power tools the gang worked under a relentless sun and the track began to resemble its old self.

Jon Hughes, owner of Downtown Ferndale Bike Shop and the grandson of one of the men who helped build the velodrome back in 1969, seemed amazed, "I'm super impressed with what they've done in just a day." Jon rode the track again for the first time in years as he reminisced about past national and world champions that once competed on the track.

"It's really not about getting some 45 year-old guy a better place to ride his bike. It's more about getting 10-,12-,13-year-old kids a better place to spend an afternoon," said Tom as he reflected on the gang's mission.

The Mower Gang's next mission is at Riverside Park on Aug. 28-look for them as they will be wearing their shirts with the motto, "Winning Detroit's Other Turf War."

Here's to you Tom and the rest of the Mower Gang, keep mowing-stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

What do you think of the Mower Gang's efforts to clean up unkempt public land in Detroit?

a COOL camp

Camp Quality is an annual camp for children with cancer, it provides children with a camp experience and a respite from their illness. The camp was founded in Australia back in 1983 and has grown to 57 camps around the world.

LeAnn Kooyenga, a pediatric oncology nurse, volunteers as a medical coordinator at Camp Quality in Illinois, "This camp is fantastic because it gives kids a break from their treatment and from the hospital, it's a huge boost for the morale and they leave talking about coming back next year."

This year 80 campers attended Camp Quality in Illinois. Volunteer companions and 24 hour-a-day medical staff greeted them upon arrival. A variety of activities are offered every year depending on the economy but a few are mainstays such as crafts, archery, paintball, and swimming.

Michelle Carroll, a former camper and now a sophomore in college, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma cancer when she was 2 1/2 years old. She has attended the camp which she views as a "second home" every year since she was 4 and has volunteered for the past two years as a companion, "Camp Quality had such an impact on my life, it meant a lot to me to have fun for a week, to be able to be myself, especially because of all the other kids are in the same situation. As a companion, it's rewarding to see kids so happy and to know that you are a part of it."

Carol Oostman, volunteer and board member at Illinois' Camp Quality, expresses, "Our motto is "Letting kids with cancer be kids again". We don't off a cure, just a break from being sick, campers come just to have fun."

Here's to all the volunteers and medical staff at Camp Quality's around the world-keep up the great work! Stay positive, stay generous, and STAY COOL!

For more information on Camp Quality's around the world please visit:
www.campquality.org.

What do you think of Camp Quality's efforts to provide a camp experience and fun to those children diagnosed with cancer?