By Shine, translated/edited by Dawn & Shang | Student, volunteer and alumnus&volunteer
Dear grandpas, grandmas, uncles, and aunties of SOAR,
Hope this letter finds you well. Because of your love, care, and support, my 3-year life in high school became unforgettable and invaluable. I still remember that you flew all the way across the pacific ocean, drove thousands of miles, and hiked across the mountains to visit us in our little village in the summer of 2017. I was deeply touched by your endeavors. Romain Rolland once said, “If a man is to shed the light of the sun upon other men, he must first of all have it within himself.” In my heart, you are the ones that first shed the light of the sun upon me. Deeply appreciate your unbounded love that made me feel warmth, light, and hope. Because of you all, I’ve always wanted to grow up into someone who could bring happiness to others.
As you all know, my mother passed away when I was only 5-year old. So I was sent to stay with my grandma. Then my father married a lady who’s 20-year younger than him. They let me stay with them for a very short period of time, then sent me back to grandma’s when I was 13. As my grandma got older and her health deteriorated, I was randomly sent to stay with all kinds of relatives and family friends in our village. It was SOAR that completely changed my life and fate. Not only did SOAR provide scholarships for my entire high school years, SOAR mentors continuously wrote and talked with me. Because of SOAR, I learned and grew to be confident, independent, and determined. I also decided to study traditional Chinese medicine for college. On my 18th birthday, I was diagnosed with heart failure and pneumonia. I was very scared. Luckily, it turned out to be a false diagnosis. Thanks to SOAR, I learned to be grateful and live for the moment.
Last year, my young stepmother went to the city to work. But we lost contact with her, and she never came back. So my old father’s humble income now has to support my younger brother and sister. Thanks to SOAR again, I was awarded a college scholarship to continue my studies at Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I will become an excellent doctor and devote myself to saving people’s lives.
The global pandemic hasn’t ended. Hope you all stay safe and healthy!
All the best,
Shine
Editor’s Special announcement:
Dear GlobalGiving SOAR donors,
If you and/or have family/friends working at Google, please continue to read below:
Google will have the Holiday Giving Campaign from November 8th to 19th this year. During that time, Google will provide $400 credit deposited to each employee’s portal to donate to nonprofit organizations of employees’ choice. Please give that $400 to SOAR FOUNDATION. GlobalGiving does not allow to include links of other donation method so can't copy link here.
Thank you for your continuous support to SOAR students!
Sincerely yours,
Dawn Luo
Fundraising Committee Chair
SOAR FOUNDATION
Links:
By Original stories from Lynn, rewritten by Dawn | SOAR Student and Volunteer
By K.W., translated by Lucy, Edited by Dawn | Student and Volunteers
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