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?

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?