圣诞铃声响起，明日之光First Step 团队延续救世军130年传统

前言

2020年11月，美中下一代基金会明日之光公益奖平台正式成立并得到华人社区的积极响应。平台的职责之一是传播各个团队的事迹和经验，共大家学习，交流和参考。这篇文章是喜得2020年美国总统义工服务奖的林家姐妹Annie（英文原创）和Chloe（中文翻译）再次携手，报道她们团队的公益活动。希望其他团队的队员们也踊跃将自己的公益活动写下来，互相交流，互相促进。

First Step Team Continues the 130 year Tradition，The Salvation Army Christmas Bell Ringing

Annie Lin (English)                Chloe Lin (Chinese translation)

Have you ever seen Salvation Army bell ringers in front of a store around the holiday season? Bell ringing is a 130 year old tradition that started in San Francisco in 1891. The red kettles used to collect donations represent hope and generosity. Unfortunately, in recent years, the Salvation Army has been struggling to find bell ringers, one reason being the pandemic. Being able to organize a team to do the fundraising for two days during the Thanksgiving week was really helpful.

On the 26th and 27th of November 2021, the First Step Team did just that: we were fundraising for the Salvation Army by volunteering as bell ringers. We had 10 students and 11 parents participate in the volunteer work, which went from 10 am to about 8 pm on both days. In two days, we witnessed more than 300 people donated almost $1000.

After we finished fundraising, Mr. Jose Barrington, who works for the Salvation Army, came to collect the kettles. “It’s so good to see a team of young people volunteering,” he said. He told us that what we do is very important because the money helps support many of the Salvation Army’s local programs, such as the homeless shelter at downtown and after-school programs for children in need. I thanked him for the opportunity and told him that being able to volunteer with the Salvation Army was such a blessing to our team members because helping people in need in our community is so important.

Some of our team members spoke about their experiences doing the bell ringing. Many were grateful for the opportunity to help people in need. 9^th grader Emily said she was so happy to contribute to charity work, and have a chance to play violin too. 6^th grader Jeremy pointed out that it is important to our economy to help people in need. “This activity made me feel like I contributed to the Salvation Army’s overall fundraising campaign,” said Bella, a 5^th grader. She also had the idea to bring candies next time to give to the people who donate. Like Jeremy and Bella, other team members also had unforgettable experiences. 2^nd grader Shana said that she had fun playing music with friends in public. Her brother Shawn, who is in 4^th grade, was very happy to see people donating. Their mother Qing said: “They were shy before the fundraiser, but with encouragement from friends they felt more relaxed, even when performing in public. People stopped to watch them performing and give encouraging words.” High-school freshman Michelle summed up what all of us feel after these two days of standing for hours in front of the store in cold weather: “I have learned to appreciate the people who ring the bell every year and am thankful for the ones who donated.”

Fundraising for the Salvation Army was a very successful event. We will be doing it again on December 17th at the same location (Hobby Lobby, 2955 Cobb Pkwy SE, 30339). Contact us if you want to join (firststepteam2020@gmail.com). We hope to see you there!

延续救世军130年传统，First Step团队把圣诞铃声摇起

林佳音Annie(英文)               林青青Chloe(中文翻译)

你有没有在节日期间看到过救世军在商店门前摇铃？摇铃募捐的传统1891年起源于旧金山，迄今已有 130 年的历史。志愿者用来收集捐款的红色钱桶象征着节日期间的希望和慷慨。不幸的是，近年来救世军一直没有足够的摇铃志愿者，原因之一是新冠大流行。在救世军人手不足的情况下，能够组织一个团队在感恩节期间进行两天的筹款活动，对他们真的很有帮助。

2021 年 11 月 26 日和 27 日，First Step 团队组织了志愿摇铃为救世军筹款的活动。总共有 10 名学生和 11 位家长参加了这项工作，每天从上午 10 点轮流值班坚持到晚上 8 点左右。我们团队在两天内见证了300多人捐赠近 1000 美元善款。

筹款结束后，救世军的 Jose Barrington 先生前来收钱桶。他说 “看到一群年轻人志愿服务真是太好了。” 他告诉我，我们团队所做的事情非常重要，因为这些钱将支持救世军的许多当地项目，例如市中心的流浪人员庇护所和为有需要的儿童提供的课后服务。我很感谢这个服务社区的机会，并告诉他能够做救世军志愿者对我们的团队成员来说是一种祝福，因为帮助有需要的人对我们的社区建设意义重大。

我们的一些团队成员谈到了他们摇铃的经历，许多人感谢有机会帮助有需要的人。九年级学生 Emily 说能为公益做点事很开心，又捡起小提琴拉了几曲也是意外收获。六年级学生 Jeremy 指出“帮助有需要的人对我们的社会经济很重要“。五年级学生 Bella 说：“这项活动让我觉得我为救世军的整体筹款活动做出了贡献。”她也萌生了下次带糖果送给捐款人的想法。像 Jeremy 和 Bella 一样，团队其他成员也收获满满。二年级学生Shana 说她在商店门口和朋友一起弹琴很开心。她四年级的哥哥 Shawn 看到那么多人捐款特别兴奋。她们的妈妈说：“他们以前很害羞，但是在朋友们的鼓励与合作下，能够相当自信地在公共场合表演。人们停下来看他们​演出并给予鼓励。”高中新生 Michelle 总结了这两天在寒冷的天气里站在商店前几个小时后我们所有人的感受：“我学会了感谢每年摇铃的志愿者，也感谢那些捐钱的人。”

这次活动非常成功，所以我们将在 12 月 17 日同一地点再组织一次为救世军摇铃募捐 （Hobby Lobby, 2955 Cobb Pkwy SE, 30339），有意加入者请联系我们（firststepteam2020@gmail.com）希望在那里看到你！