Love Replay

In the movie "Clueless," Alicia Silverstone's character, Cher, declared that even sporting equipment is susceptible to a natural disaster. It's in that same spirit that 13-year-old Matt Shuman responded to the Marek and Sayre fires of the San Fernando Valley last year.

As the wild fires took out hundreds of homes, Shuman watched and knew he had to something. "In a fire, you lose everything," Shuman tells the LA Daily News. "We know that sports are not a priority, but it's what brings us kids together." And although they did not personally know any of the victims, the 13-year-old rallied his friends, Cooper Conran, Chris Cendrowski and Eli Sachs to help replace sporting equipment lost in the fire. Together they wrote and presented a proposal to their school in January, known as RePLAYce with Love.

On Saturday Councilman Richard Alarcón joined three of the boys at Ballerz Indoor Batting Cages to present young fire victims with "gently used" sporting goods collected from the community over the past two weeks. They gathered nearly 500 items -- ranging from skateboards to golf clubs -- and gave two to each of the 25 kids who showed up at the event. The additional goods will be donated to a local organization called MEND (Meet Each Need with Dignity).

The Palmers lost all their belongings from the 2,100 square-foot-home, including a new air-hockey table they'd received a week before the fire. Nathan, 9, and Matthew, 4, left happily with a baseball glove, ping-pong set and pogo stick. 

It's inspiring to see such philanthropic instinct from young kids. Congressman Alarcon surmised that Obama's leadership may be fueling this community-minded behavior, but then also added that Shuman organized a similar drive for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We think this kid is just a good egg.