Most Heartwarming Acts of Kindness of 2018

2018年最令人感动的善举

Let’s take a moment to consider the kindness we extend to each other every day. These moving stories will reaffirm your faith in humanity.

静下来想想，其实人与人之间的善意之举就发生在我们身边，下面这几个平凡而又感人的故事更坚定了我们对这个美好世界的感动和热爱。

A teen building homes for families in need

来自中学生的感动——为需要的人提供住所

Daniella Benitez, a 14-year-old freshman¹ at Cathedral² Catholic High School in San Diego, has made it her mission to help build homes for people in need alongside the nonprofit organization, Build a Miracle. It started when her family helped build a home in Tijuana that was sponsored by Daniella’s school. “The day after completing the project, she woke up and told me she wanted to commit to building one home a year,” said her mother, Ghada. Daniella recruited a team to raise the $16,000 needed to provide a fully furnished home with running water, electricity, beds, and showers each year. She plans to personally go down and help build, paint, and furnish the homes, as well. This past spring, Daniella helped build a home that was just completed.

14岁的Daniella Benitez是圣地亚哥市区天主教大教堂中学的新生。她主动肩负起了和“创造奇迹”这一非营利组织一起为有需要的人建造房屋的重任。这源于她家人之前参与了在蒂华纳建造房屋的帮扶活动，而这一项目是由Daniella的学校发起的。“项目完成后的第二天，她醒来后就告诉我，她决定每年建一所房子。”她的母亲Ghada说。Daniella招募了一支团队，为每年能提供水、电、床和淋浴设施等各方面完备的房屋筹集了16000美元。她计划亲自建造、粉刷和装饰房屋。在今年春天，Daniella协助建造了一个刚完工的房子。

Candy from a stranger

来自陌生人的感动——给陌生人送糖果

Bob Williams, a 94-year-old man from Long Grove³, Iowa, is making a positive impact in his community one chocolate bar at a time. He just hit a milestone⁴ of giving out nearly 6,000 Hershey’s milk chocolate bars to local residents. Every Saturday morning he buys a boxful plus a few extras for the store employees and the customer in line behind him. The rest of the week, the retired⁵ teacher and coach never leaves the house without a few in his pocket, and he hands them out to random⁶ people he meets. “I began giving out candy bars as a way to connect with the community in my hometown. I thought it’d be a nice way to get to know people in my town and bring a little cheer. Sometimes you see the same faces day in and day out, but you never really get to know them. I wanted to do something to change that,” he told Reader’s Digest. Earlier this year, he went out of his ways to make a new college student in town feel welcome.

Bob Williams是爱荷华州Long Grove的一位94岁老人。他正用一块块巧克力给他的社区带来正能量。目前，他已经实现了向当地居民赠送近6000块好时牛奶巧克力的里程碑。每周六早上，他都会买一箱巧克力，再买上一些零散的巧克力，分给店员和排队的顾客们。剩下的一周时间里，这个退休的教师兼教练出门总要在口袋里放上几个巧克力，送给路上遇到的人。他在接受《读者文摘》采访时说：“我将糖果作为保持社区居民联系的一种方式。我认为这是了解我所住小镇上的人的一种很好的途径，还能带来正能量。有时你日复一日地看到同样的人，但从未真正了解他们。我想改变这一现状。”而在今年早些时候，他竭尽全力，热情欢迎了镇上到来的一名新大学生。

Humanity for the manatees⁸

来自小学生的感动——关爱海牛

Roxi Foley, 8, is a fan of the show Sea Rescue, which depicts⁹ ocean rescues of marine¹⁰ creatures. The plight¹¹ of manatees—the marine mammal is under threatened status—led her to seek out the manatee⁷ exhibit when her family visited SeaWorld this year. After speaking with the animal’s caregivers, Roxi had one clear goal: To find a way to save manatees. That would be tricky¹² from her home in the suburbs of Chicago. Undaunted, Roxi began writing letters to friends and relatives asking for donations. (Her grandfather recommended she call her efforts Humanity for the Manatees.) Roxi also sold artwork, donated her own money, and encouraged others to share spare change for manatees. “From a young age, she’d always ask me how she was going to change the world if she was just a kid,” says her mother, Didi. She would remind her daughter that every effort helps, no matter how big or small. This year, Roxi has raised hundreds of dollars for the cause.

现年8岁的Roxi Foley是《海上救援》的粉丝，这一节目描述了对海洋生物的救援过程。海牛这一海洋哺乳动物正濒临灭绝的困境，让她在今年和家人一起去海洋世界时特地参观了海牛展览。在与海牛照料人员交谈后，Roxi心生一个目标：找到拯救海牛的方法。这对于居住在芝加哥郊区家里的她是很困难的。但Roxi不慌不忙，开始写信给亲戚朋友寻求捐款。（她的祖父建议她将自己的努力称为“关爱海牛”行动。）Roxi还卖掉了艺术品，捐赠了自己的钱，并鼓励其他人为海牛做出一些小小的贡献。她的母亲Didi说：“从很小的时候起，她总是问我，作为小孩，应该如何改变这个世界。”她告诉女儿，无论大小，每个努力都实现它的价值。通过这一年，Roxi已经为该事业筹集了数百美元。