聖誕鈴聲響起，明日之光First Step 團隊延續救世軍130年傳統

前言

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。這篇文章是喜得2020年美國總統義工服務獎的林家姐妹Annie（英文原創）和Chloe（中文翻譯）再次攜手，報道她們團隊的公益活動。希望其他團隊的隊員們也踴躍將自己的公益活動寫下來，互相交流，互相促進。

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!

延續救世軍130年傳統，First Step團隊把聖誕鈴聲搖起

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

你有沒有在節日期間看到過救世軍在商店門前搖鈴？搖鈴募捐的傳統1891年起源於舊金山，迄今已有 130 年的歷史。志願者用來收集捐款的紅色錢桶象徵著節日期間的希望和慷慨。不幸的是，近年來救世軍一直沒有足夠的搖鈴志願者，原因之一是新冠大流行。在救世軍人手不足的情況下，能夠組織一個團隊在感恩節期間進行兩天的籌款活動，對他們真的很有幫助。

2021 年 11 月 26 日和 27 日，First Step 團隊組織了志願搖鈴為救世軍籌款的活動。總共有 10 名學生和 11 位家長參加了這項工作，每天從上午 10 點輪流值班堅持到晚上 8 點左右。我們團隊在兩天內見證了300多人捐贈近 1000 美元善款。

籌款結束後，救世軍的 Jose Barrington 先生前來收錢桶。他說 「看到一群年輕人志願服務真是太好了。」 他告訴我，我們團隊所做的事情非常重要，因為這些錢將支持救世軍的許多當地項目，例如市中心的流浪人員庇護所和為有需要的兒童提供的課後服務。我很感謝這個服務社區的機會，並告訴他能夠做救世軍志願者對我們的團隊成員來說是一種祝福，因為幫助有需要的人對我們的社區建設意義重大。

我們的一些團隊成員談到了他們搖鈴的經歷，許多人感謝有機會幫助有需要的人。九年級學生 Emily 說能為公益做點事很開心，又撿起小提琴拉了幾曲也是意外收穫。六年級學生 Jeremy 指出「幫助有需要的人對我們的社會經濟很重要「。五年級學生 Bella 說：「這項活動讓我覺得我為救世軍的整體籌款活動做出了貢獻。」她也萌生了下次帶糖果送給捐款人的想法。像 Jeremy 和 Bella 一樣，團隊其他成員也收穫滿滿。二年級學生Shana 說她在商店門口和朋友一起彈琴很開心。她四年級的哥哥 Shawn 看到那麼多人捐款特別興奮。她們的媽媽說：「他們以前很害羞，但是在朋友們的鼓勵與合作下，能夠相當自信地在公共場合表演。人們停下來看他們​演出並給予鼓勵。」高中新生 Michelle 總結了這兩天在寒冷的天氣里站在商店前幾個小時後我們所有人的感受：「我學會了感謝每年搖鈴的志願者，也感謝那些捐錢的人。」

這次活動非常成功，所以我們將在 12 月 17 日同一地點再組織一次為救世軍搖鈴募捐 （Hobby Lobby, 2955 Cobb Pkwy SE, 30339），有意加入者請聯繫我們（firststepteam2020@gmail.com）希望在那裡看到你！