【推荐2】Emily Bhatnagar has always loved reading. “Growing up, I was really shy, so I always turned to books,” she said. “They became my best friends when I didn’t have one.”

In 2019, when Emily was in her second year of high school, her dad suffered from cancer. The news was difficult for the family. Books became an even bigger comfort, and she started thinking about families in similar situations. When her father recovered, she came up with a plan to help others. “The idea came from the fact that there were kids who were facing the same problem,” she said.

Then, Emily started the book drive in her hometown, Gaithersburg, Maryland. The goal was to collect books and give them to kids being treated for cancer in local hospitals. Her father was not surprised by this plan. “She always wants to do things for the neighborhood,” he said. Since the start of the book drive, which she calls For Love & Buttercup, Emily has collected more than 10,000 books.

Emily had no idea how much attention her work would get. She started by posting on social media, asking people in her area to donate. “I was expecting maybe two or three neighbors to do it,” she said. “But it ended up blowing up,” especially when newspapers began reporting it.

The Children’s Inn is one of the places where Emily has donated books. “Donations like Emily’s share a piece of the world with kids and families that they may not experience,” said its director, Aisha Campbell. Emily continues to run the book drive with her parents’ help. She hopes to one day make it reach more kids. The memory of the first time she visited children who’d received her books sticks with her. “It was the best day of my life,” she said. “I realized I wanted to do this type of work forever.”

【推荐3】McMaster student Lianna Genovese, who invented a device called Guided Hands that allows people with limited hand movement to draw, write and paint, has been chosen as Canada’s national winner of the 2021 James Dyson Award.

Genovese was only 18 years old when she created the first version of the aided device in a course that introduces students to engineering design in the biomedical engineering fields. As part of the design projects for that first-year course, students worked with customers in the community. Genovese met Elissa, a woman living with dystopia. “Elissa mentioned that she had a hard time doing the buttons on her shirt, a hard time writing, but one thing that really stood out to me was that she had a really difficult time painting and that she was a talented painter,” Genovese said. “I wanted to help give her back her passion and improve her quality of life.”

Genovese said she saw a way that a device could assist. Her design was made on the principle of a 3D printer, with a person’s hand as the nozzle (喷嘴). The device’s unique sliding mechanical device guides hand movements in all directions when the user grasps a handpiece (手持件) tailored to their level of hand impairment (损伤). The handpiece can hold a variety of writing tools such as pens, pencils, paintbrushes, markers, etc. Genovese had a list of people testing the first few versions. Finally, she found one that worked. “Elissa loved it and she was able to paint again,” she said.

“Then I visited every single hospital, clinic, nursing home and retirement home in my city, and introduced it to over 150 patients and doctors,” Genovese said. One girl named Bella, who suffered cerebral palsy, tried the device out. “As soon as she began painting, the widest smile spread across her face. She turned to her mom and said, ‘Mom, I want one.’ At that moment, I realized this is an invention that can change the lives of so many people,” Genovese said.

【推荐2】Melba Mebane never thought she’d retire from the department store she worked at for 74 years — until the traffic on her commute (通勤) became unbearable. The Dillard’s where she worked in Tyler, Texas, was only a15-minute drive from her house, but traffic could sometimes double the commute, for which Mebane, now 91, no longer had the patience. Thus, she retired from her job at Dillard’s.

Mebane began working as an “elevator girl” at the Mayer & Schmidt department store in 1949 when she was seventeen, through a work-study program at Tyler High School. The store was acquired by Dillard’s in 1956.

She moved to the men’s clothing department, and later the cosmetics (化妆品) counter, where she stayed until she retired. “There were gift baskets one of the girls just couldn’t sell,” says Mebane. “They asked me to try, so I stepped out and talked to people about the basketa...I sold every single one. So I was told that’s where I was staying.”

Mebane followed the same morning routine for 74 years: Waking up at 6:00 am, making a pot of coffee, preparing a quick breakfast, and then getting to Dillard’s at 9:00 am sharp. “I loved going to work every day,” says Mebane. “If you’re content with what you’re doing. why not keep doing it?”

Her best advice for finding a good career is not to take a job simply because it pays well, because “money can disappoint you,” Mebane warns. “Finding something you’re good at and people you enjoy working with is so much more important.”

Since she started working at Dillard’s, Mebane had opportunities to become a manager, but she always turned the offers down. “Nobody likes management, because they have to make tough decisions,” she says. “I liked my friends and work, and I wanted to keep them, so I just focused on being the best salesperson I could be.”

Many of Mebane’s former co-workers visit her in the retirement village where she has recently moved, taking her out to lunch, the movies or shopping.

【推荐3】Having the blues, I was driving aimlessly. Unexpectedly, no one remembered my birthday. I decided to take myself out for a birthday celebration to have breakfast by the time I arrived at my destination.

On arrival, I followed a couple of ladies into the cafe and waited to get a menu. One lady asked the waiter to help find one table for them. But the cafe was rather full then. There was only one left in the corner. Then, the lady asked me if I got my own table. I said, “I think you could get your own and I could wait for a smaller one, as I’m here to celebrate my birthday alone.” The lady immediately suggested that we share a table together. At that moment, I thought that was a lovely idea and nodded my head.

I went to pay for my meal and a drink. But I was told it had been paid for. On sitting at the table, I offered to pay for their meal and was told that I didn’t have to pay on my birthday. That was a simple gift for me from the ladies who I just met for the first time, which really touched my heart.

We had a beautiful 40 minutes together and we shared many topics before they had to continue on their journey. It was more than I could have expected for the day. “Thank you! Ladies-Beck and Shayne, my lovely angels for the day. I would never forget this unique birthday. At our parting, they also inspired me to share my kindness, wisdom or knowledge to those who need it. I said to myself,” I surely do not let this chain of love end with me.