明日之光Open Arms 團隊快樂的夏天

2020年11月，美中下一代基金會明日之光公益獎平台正式成立並得到華人社區的積極響應。平台的職責之一是傳播各個團隊的事迹和經驗，共大家學習，交流和參考。近兩年的時間裡，我們通過生活網平台刊登了不少由孩子們自己撰寫的文章，既讓大家看到他們為社區做出的努力，也使得孩子們通過記錄自己的活動，更加深刻的體會到服務社區和他人的重要和榮譽。這篇文章里，明日之光Open Arms的隊長（ President）Abigail Rong向大家介紹了他們團隊利用暑假帶領孩子們參與各種戶外活動的經歷和感悟。

Open Arms Summer Fun

Open Arms 團隊快樂的夏天

Written By: Abigail Rong (Open Arms President, Denmark High School 10th Grader)

Starting from June 4th 2022, Open Arms launched summer activities featuring funsummer-exclusive activities and locations.

從 2022 年 6 月 4 日開始，Open Arms 推出了有趣的夏季特有的活動和不同的活動場所。

During the summer we held the event at several different locations with the primary goal for all of them to relate to outdoor play. During the summer we wanted both our volunteers and kids to be able to enjoy the outdoors and be physically active. The solution to this was to host all our events at locations with playgrounds. Our meetings would usually be held at a fire station community room or a neighborhood playground. This was great excitement among all the kids and volunteers as these new locations held a variety of new stimuli different from the ones our regular location at the church had to offer.

Water Guns Fight

今年夏天，我們在幾個不同的地點舉辦了活動，主要目標是讓所有人都能參與戶外活動。 我們希望我們的志願者和孩子們在夏天都能夠享受戶外活動，鍛煉身體。 所以我們選擇在有遊樂場的地方舉辦我們所有的活動。 我們的活動通常借用一個消防站的社區活動室或小區的遊樂場舉行。 這讓所有孩子和志願者感到非常興奮，因為這些新地點提供了與我們在教堂的常規地點所提供的不同的各種新刺激。

Walking to Shakerag Park next to Fire Station

Not only did our summer programs present new locations, we also hosted new activities. Because our events were often held outdoors, we didn』t want kids and volunteers to overheat. To combat this issue we often had fun water-related activities such as water balloons, water guns, and even a lemonade station. The majority of the kids and volunteers had a great time and helped some of the kids interact with each other more and improve their social skills. These new activities brought excitement to the program and a lot of new faces.

Sidewalk Chalk Drawing

我們的夏天的活動不僅有不同的地點，我們還增加了一些新的內容。 因為我們的活動經常在戶外舉行，我們不希望孩子和志願者過熱。 所以我們增加了一些有趣的與水有關的活動，例如充水氣球戰、水槍大戰，甚至檸檬水站。 大多數孩子和志願者度過了愉快的時光，並幫助一些孩子更多地互動並提高了他們的社交技能。 這些新的活動給節目帶來了興奮和許多新面孔。

Another activity we started during the summer was the lemonade stand. Though only the volunteers were allowed to operate it, both groups had a lot of fun. Kids enjoyed the refreshing lemonade while they played outside. The volunteers also handed out lemonade to the people in the neighborhood while collecting donations for our organization. The lemonade stand was a great success so after the first day we started selling the lemonade to raise funds for our organization.

Water balloon Fight

我們在夏天開始的另一項內容是檸檬水攤位。 雖然只允許志願者操作，但所有人都玩得很開心。 孩子們在戶外玩耍時享受清爽的檸檬水。 志願者們在向附近路過的人們分發免費的檸檬水的同時也為我們的組織宣傳募捐。 檸檬水攤位很受歡迎，所以在一次活動之後，義工們又銷售了幾次檸檬水來為我們的組織籌集資金。

The fun summer has passed, but the fun memories will stay for the kids and volunteers. Now we are back to our regular location Johns Creek Methodist Church. We welcome more volunteers and neurodivergent kids to join our events. If you need more information, please visit our website https://www.openarmsforkids.org (Still under construction) or email us at openarms2021.org@gmail.com. If you want to be a regular sponsor for Open Arms, please email us at openarms2021.org@gmail.com. We will display your business logo or business card on our website. If you just want to give a one time donation, please Zelle to openarms2021.org@gmail.com. No matter if you are a neurodivergent kid, a volunteer, or a donor, we welcome you with Open Arms.

快樂的夏天已經過去，但美好的記憶會留在孩子們和志願者心中。 現在我們回到了我們的常規地點約翰溪衛理公會教堂。 我們歡迎更多的志願者和特需孩子加入我們的活動。 如果您需要更多信息，請訪問我們的網站 https://www.openarmsforkids.org（仍在創建中）或發送電子郵件至openarms2021.org@gmail.com。 如果您想成為 Open Arms 的常規贊助商，請發送電子郵件至openarms2021.org@gmail.com。 我們將在我們的網站上展示您的企業標誌，鏈接或名片。 如果您只想一次性捐款，請 Zelle 發送至 openarms2021.org@gmail.com。 無論您是特需孩子、志願者還是捐贈者，我們都張開雙臂歡迎您。