【推荐1】On any given day, you can find most 10-year-old boys throwing a ball around outside, riding bikes or playing video games. But Braden Baker is different.

Braden is a hearing damaged 5th-grader and has to wear hearing aids (助听器). Unluckily, Braden’s dog Chewy found his hearing aids on the floor and destroyed them-not once but twice and they had to be replaced. But at $3,500to $6,000 a pair, Braden’s carelessness was costly.

Braden’s mother Ashley sat Braden down and had a long talk about taking better care of his hearing aids, explaining how much they cost.“I told him that he was lucky to get another pair and that some people couldn’t afford a new pair, ”Ashley said.

Those words stuck in Braden’s mind, who realized not every child who needed hearing aids could afford them. Recently the 10-year-old boy decided to start a GoFundMe page to raise money for those who aren’t so lucky.

Braden made a video to explain why he wanted to raise money. Ashley said, “We weren’t sure how it would turn out. He began with a goal of$1,000.We woke up the next morning and found it had raised$400.”

This encouraged him to start making more videos. Fast-forward a few months and Braden’s GoFundMe page has raised over $15,000, which Braden donated to the Oticon Hearing Foundation. That money will be used to help other families buy hearing aids for their children.

The project has not only taught Braden the value of money, but according to his mom, “he’s learned that if you put a small idea into action, amazing things can happen.”

Braden’s advice to those looking for ways to give back to others is “Don’t give up! Any small idea can get really big.”

【推荐2】I grew up in a poor family with a single mom addicted to drugs. Often there was no money for food, and I was always hungry.

On my fifth birthday, some close family members were invited to go to a park to celebrate my birthday. No cake. No presents. Except for my auntie, she had an envelope in her hand.

Before everyone sang Happy Birthday, I saw a little boy, probably my age, and a woman, digging in the park dustbin for food. I begged my mom to invite them to my party but my mother was not a fan of strangers. She said no.

I was attracted by them. I didn't know others struggled like me, and it hurt my heart. I watched them as everyone sang. I watched them when my auntie handed me the envelope. I watched them as I opened it until I saw the contents, a one hundred-dollar bill. My mother was enraged because my auntie gave me such a large amount of money. Maybe she thought my auntie trusted me more than her with cash.

We were poor. I didn't eat 3 days a week and I had a very hard childhood. But I had never dug in a dustbin for food.

My auntie kept talking it over with my mother. Finally, she told me I could do anything I wanted with that money. So I did. I walked to the boy and his mother. I explained to the boy that it was my birthday and my present was $100, and I wanted to give it to them. There were so many tears and thanks.

I, and my auntie, understood how powerful it was to give the only money I'd ever seen away. My mother never did. I paid dearly for the action that night. But it was worth it.

I think about that boy and his mother often.

【推荐3】Three months ago, I broke a vertebra (椎骨) in my lower back. Staying in hospital, I longed for the football pitch like never before. I even joked: “So I have to wear a brace (支具) now when I play football.”

Now came the moment! Waiting for the doctor, I became unbearably impatient. I had waited for three months to find out whether or not I would be cleared to play football again, but the thought of waiting another five minutes seemed impossible. Then Dr. Pittinger entered the room. The question remained unasked and unanswered as we went through the procedures of a physical. The time had finally come. He spoke slowly and softly, but still rather matter-of-factly, as he told me that I would never be able to play football again.

The realization sank in immediately. I wasn’t surprised, but I opposed the idea wholeheartedly. For months after I was released, I continued to work out with the football team. I woke up every morning at five for rehab (康复训练). Even though I was ashamed to wear my back brace, I wore it devotedly. At night, I slept on the floor because my doctor told me that sleeping on a firm surface was good for my back. I was determined to play again.

However, in the end, just as the doctor ordered, I never played another quarter of football. After several nights of coming home from training barely able to walk, I finally gave in. For a while, I felt that giving up was like an admittance of defeat rather than the acceptance of a truth. But over time, I realized no matter what happened, life would go on. Rather than focus on what was undeniably unachievable, I understood that even though this particular option was no longer open to me, I had countless other choices to make in its place.