【推荐1】Mei Lum is the fifth-generation owner of Wing on Wo & Co. in Manhattan’s Chinatown.

For Lum, the oldest-running business in Manhattan’s Chinatown sees the neighbourhood growing larger and larger and is an informal living room where she came of age. In the store on Mott Street, she shared meals with her family, took Chinese lessons with her grandparents and helped clean the store as a young girl.

Wing on Wo was started in the 1890s. In the early days, Wing on Wo was a general store that mainly sold dried fish and canned (罐装的) goods. It was also an informal post office. When Lum’s grandmother, Nancy, took over in 1965, she decided to focus on porcelain (瓷器) specifically. Its heyday (全盛时期) was the late 70s to the late 80s. A lot of the goods came from Hong Kong, where Lum’s grandfather grew up.

In 2016, her grandmother planned to sell the porcelain specialty shop and its building. Lum, who was preparing to study international relations at Columbia University, decided to take over the store — not only to preserve (保护) its cultural value, but to create a community centre.

“I see the store as a place for conversation for Asian Americans. They want to learn about family history and tradition, and are curious about their cultural identity. I want them to learn about their identity through our porcelain,” Lum said.

Wing on Wo has remained a family business from its founding. Lum’s father, Gary, has been manning the counter (柜台) for the past 30 years. Her mother, Lorraine, processes orders and manages the website. Even her grandmother helps out with some work in the store.

The pandemic pushed Lum to start learning how to run an online store. She’s also added a lot of new activities, including youth programs, an artist residency and a ceramicist fair, to ensure that in addition to preserving tradition, the business is shaping the future of Chinatown.

【推荐3】

Liang Kaiyu, a 30-year-old engineer, lost his left leg above the knee in an explosion when testing his self-built automatic electronic motor in January 2020. He used his engineering skills to make his prosthetic (假肢的) leg more comfortable and powerful than a real leg.

“I have experienced some awkward moments while using the prosthetic leg, which has made me think about how to upgrade it.” Liang says, “Security checks when traveling, especially at airports, can be a bit problematic: others include trying on clothes in fitting rooms, shoes at shopping malls, and changing from ‘feet’ to a running blade before jogging.” Since late 2020, he has upgraded his high-tech prosthesis. One of the latest upgrades is the addition of colored LED lights to his running blade.

He has become an overnight internet hit on short-video streaming platforms for sharing his designs and upgrades on his high-tech prosthetic leg to make it close to, or even better than, a real one. Liang says, “Although China has millions of amputees (截肢患者), people with a prosthesis are still a rare sight on the street. I hope my videos can be inspiring to people struggling through tough times, just like I have been through. Even a smile will make it worth it.”

Since his optimism and courage made national headlines, Liang has gone viral on social media. On micro-blogging platform Sina Weibo, his story has gained more than 21 million views so far. Many users refer to him by the nickname “Iron Leg Man”. “What amazes me most is not your skills, but your confidence after such a disaster,” a netizen named Modaren says.

To advance functional performance and help amputees maintain or regain their freedom of movement, Liang has provided his experience and suggestions to several prosthetics companies. “If there is a good opportunity, I want to make high-tech prosthetics accessible and affordable to more amputees in China,” Liang says.

【推荐1】When Amelia Lisowe was told she was too young to volunteer, she decided to make a difference by herself. The Benton, Arkansas native launched her own non-profit, Lisowe’s Lights, in 2018, donating over 500 nightlights to kids in the Arkansas foster (寄养的) system that year alone.

Since, she has expanded to all 50 states (and 9 countries) and raised funds to distribute more than 15,000 nightlights — with no plans of slowing down.

“Kids in foster homes sometimes have to leave in the middle of the night without taking anything with them,” she says. “I wanted to help them feel less scared and more safe.” The 12-year-old hopes to give away at least 2,500 more lights in 2023.

Amelia grew up volunteering with her mom, Lauren, who encouraged her daughter to find something she was good at and use it to make the world a better place. “I’m so proud of her,” Lauren adds. “She’s involved in every decision we make. Every time we spend money, she helps decide if something is a good idea or will further our cause.”

Amelia also gets help from friends in the Royal International Miss Pageant system, who run their own nightlight drives in person and online. Amelia, a sixth grader who also volunteers at her local food bank and nursing home, says she feels the impact of her work most when she hears from organizations that have put her lights to use.

“I heard about one boy in Oklahoma who never turned off his hall light, not because he was scared, but because he wanted to make sure his little sister was always doing okay across the hall,” Amelia shares. “When they got their nightlight, he knew she wouldn’t be afraid anymore.”

【推荐2】Most of us take the task of buying a cup of coffee for granted, as it seems simple enough. However, we have no idea just how stressful tasks like this can be for people who suffer from disabilities. That’s why it’s so heart-warming to see a story like this in which a barista (咖啡师) does something small to make life a little easier for someone who is deaf.

Ibby Piracha lost his hearing when he was only two years old, and he now goes to his local cafe in Leesburg, Virginia to order a cup of coffee at least three times a week. Though all the baristas who work there have his order memorized, Ibby always write his order on his phone and shows it to the barista.

One day, however, one of the baristas did something that changed everything! After Ibby ordered his coffee, he was amazed when barista Krystal pane handed him a note in response. “I’ve been learning sign language just so you can have the same experience as everyone else,” the note read. Krystal then asked Ibby in sign language what he would like to order.

Ibby was touched that she would learn sign language just to help him feel welcome. “I was just so moved that she actually wanted to learn sign language. It is really a totally different language and it was something that she wanted to do because of me. Because I was a deaf customer. I was very, very impressed,” Ibby said.

Krystal had spent hours watching teaching videos so that she could learn enough sign language to give Ibby the best customer service that she could! “My job is to make sure people have the experience they expect and that’s what I gave him,” Krystal says.

Ibby posted a photo of Krystal’s note online, and it quickly went viral, getting hundreds of likes and comments that praised Krystal for her kind action.