难忘的海滨暑假

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。暑期已经过去，孩子们又回到了学校。与此同时，各个团队也开始了定期或不定期的公益活动。不少孩子刚刚步入中学的家长和学生本人不太清楚公益活动该从何做起。我们将陆续介绍我们团队家长和学生的宝贵经验。

下面这篇文章是由明日之光First Step发起者Annie Lin（林佳音）讲述她和妹妹Chloe Lin（林青青）及朋友们如何度过一个难忘的夏天。

难忘的海滨暑假

林佳音 (英文作者)       林青青 (中文翻译)

This summer, my family and I stayed at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SKIO) near Savannah where my mom had her sabbatical. I was away from Atlanta and my First Step team; however, it did not stop me and my sister Chloe from joining our friends remotely to pick up trash on the campus. The small amount of garbage there pleasantly surprised us. The students, faculty and staff of SKIO must have a great sense of protecting the environment of their campus and keeping it clean.

今年夏天，因为妈妈在Savannah附近的Skidaway海洋学院作访问学者，我们全家在那里住了两个月。虽然离开了亚特兰大和First Step团队，但是这并没有阻止我和妹妹Chloe远程加入我们的朋友，通过捡拾校园里的垃圾来清洁环境。我们很高兴地发现那里的垃圾非常少， 海洋学院的学生和教职员工们一定都很有保护校园清洁环境的意识。

We also went to Cumberland Island, which is one of the barrier islands along Georgia coast. On the island, we saw wild horses, ruins of an old mansion, and a beautiful pristine beach. There are no dumpsters on Cumberland Island, all visitors are required to pack up their trash and bring it back. Although the park rangers clearly explained the rules, we still found quite some trash, mostly food packaging under the boardwalk and around picnic tables. Angela, Sophie, Chloe and I collected two big bags. Unfortunately, we could not do more because we had to catch the ferry boat back.

     我们还去了Cumberland岛。在岛上，我们看到了野马、古宅遗址和美丽的原始海滩。Cumberland岛上没有垃圾箱，所有游客都必须把垃圾打包并带回去。尽管州立公园的工作人员清楚地解释了规则，但我们仍然发现了一些垃圾，主要是木板路下和野餐桌周围的食品包装。Angela, Sophie, Chloe和我一路走一路收集了两个大袋子。可惜的是，因为我们不得不赶回渡船，所以没时间多捡。

Compared with Cumberland Island, Tybee Island beach is much more populated because it is a shorter drive from Savannah. When Shawn and Shana’s family came to visit us, we went to play on the south beach of Tybee Island. We saw many people and lots of trash too! We collected a few bags of cans, cups, bottles, straws and abandoned plastic toys in just half an hour.

与Cumberland岛相比，距离Savannah很近的Tybee岛海滩的人口要多得多。Shawn和Shana全家来看我们的时候，大家就一起去Tybee岛的南海滩玩。我们看到了很多人，也看到了很多垃圾！我们在短短的半小时内就收集了好几袋空罐头、饮料杯、瓶子、吸管和被扔掉的塑料玩具。

Angela, Sophie, Chloe and I also went to downtown Savannah to raise money for the Salvation Army. We put on a show at the riverfront. Chloe and I played violin, Sophie played flute, and Angela sang a few songs. Many people showed their appreciation and donated money, and we raised $32. Some of us were a little nervous at the beginning but soon became comfortable. Really, it was fun to be with friends, and I felt great when we brought out the generosity in people.

Angela, Sophie, Chloe和我还去了Savannah市中心为Salvation Army筹集资金。我们在河边表演节目：我和Chloe拉小提琴，Sophie吹长笛，Angela唱了几首歌。许多人表示感谢并捐款，我们一共筹集了 32 美元。刚开始我们都有点紧张，但很快就适应了。真的，和朋友们在一起总是特别有趣也不害怕。当我们把人们的慷慨和善良带动出来的时候，我感觉很棒。

I had another very special volunteer experience this summer: I was a junior counselor at the Oatland Island Wildlife Center summer camp. I worked with a group of kids in 2nd and 3rd grade. My job was to help the teacher by preparing materials, organizing activities, and making sure all kids were together and safe when we were outdoors on a trail. Sometimes the job can be challenging because not all kids listened, but working with kids is actually quite rewarding. I remember one day I bought some fish food with my own money and distributed them among some of the kids. They had so much fun feeding the turtles and fish in a pond, and I was so satisfied watching them laughing and playing. Of course, I did it again the next day!

今年夏天，我还有另一段非常特别的志愿者经历：我是Oatland岛野生动物中心夏令营的小顾问。我的工作是帮助老师准备材料，组织活动，并在户外散步时照看所有的孩子，确保他们的安全。这项工作有时会很有挑战性，因为这是一个七到八岁的班，并非所有的孩子都听话。但是相信我，和他们在一起是非常快乐的。记得有一天，我用自己的钱买了一些鱼食分发给二十个孩子。他们在池塘边喂乌龟和鱼，玩得好开心！看着他们笑和玩耍，我特别满足。所以第二天我准备好几个硬币，又带他们去了一次。

It was an unforgettable summer, because I contributed my service and I learned a lot.

这是一个难忘的暑假，因为我做了很多好事，学到了很多东西，也记住了这些美丽的地方。