Free Toy Store Helps Needy Families

Free Toy Store Helps Needy Families

免费玩具店帮助贫困家庭

【原文听力】

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　　By Gregory Stachel

　　11 December 2023

　　Four years ago, country music star Brad Paisley and his wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, helped create a free food store in Nashville, Tennessee. Their goal was to give families in need the ability to choose their own food in a place that felt like a normal store. They named it The Store.

　　The Store is a partnership with Nashville's Belmont University, where Paisley earned his degree.

　　The Store is turning into a free toy store ahead of the Christmas holiday. The event began Friday. For two days, chosen families could pick out new toys, video games, stuffed animals, makeup and other gifts.

　　Paisley said, "The emotional aspect of being able to give your child something your child wanted versus just something to sort of get you through the holidays...that's such a load off the minds of somebody who maybe didn't think they were going to be able to do that."

　　Paisley and Williams-Paisley brought the idea of a free food store to Nashville after seeing a similar effort in California. The Store launched in early 2020. Its opening came just weeks after a powerful tornado hit the area and shortly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic made food access an urgent problem.

　　The Store changed its methods to meet people's needs. It turned into a food delivery service for older people. It delivered one million meals in its first year of operation.

　　Along with the food store, Belmont University also offers additional services to families in need. They include financial education and music therapy.

　　"People come on hard times and we want this to be a safe, welcoming place for everybody, whether you're volunteering or whether you're needing the services," Williams-Paisley said. "It's just a community and we're all in it together."

　　For this year's toy store event, The Store received about 2,000 donated objects and raised $20,000. Volunteers and workers from Belmont University in Nashville spent hours opening and organizing all of the donated toys into different areas.

　　Parents will be able to drop off their kids at a religious center nearby, where they can play and drink a hot chocolate. The adults can pick out gifts at the same time.

　　Paisley said Christmas is his favorite time of year. He said he might even visit The Store dressed as Santa Claus, the make-believe person who brings gifts for children on Christmas.

　　"I live for this time of year," Paisley said. "Ever since we've had children and possibly even before, I kind of go all out."

　　I'm Gregory Stachel.

　　Kristin M. Hall reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Gregory Stachel

　　2023年12月11日

　　四年前，乡村音乐明星Brad Paisley和他的妻子，女演员Kimberly Williams-Paisley，在田纳西州纳什维尔帮助创建了一个免费食品店。他们的目标是让有需要的家庭能够在一个像普通商店一样的地方选择自己的食物。他们将其命名为The Store。

　　The Store是与Paisley获得学位的纳什维尔贝尔蒙特大学的合作项目。

　　在圣诞节假期前，The Store正在变成一个免费的玩具店。活动于周五开始。在两天的时间里，被选中的家庭可以挑选新的玩具、电子游戏、填充动物、化妆品和其他礼物。

　　Paisley表示：“能够给孩子他们想要的东西，而不仅仅是为了度过假期的东西，这种情感上的满足感，对于那些可能认为自己无法做到这一点的人来说，无疑是一种心灵的解脱。”

　　Paisley和Williams-Paisley在加利福尼亚看到类似的努力后，将免费食品店的想法带到了纳什维尔。The Store于2020年初开业。开业仅仅在一场强烈的龙卷风袭击该地区几周后，以及COVID-19大流行开始前不久。大流行使得食品获取成为一个紧迫的问题。

　　The Store改变了其方法以满足人们的需求。它变成了为老年人提供食品配送服务。在运营的第一年，它送出了一百万顿餐。

　　除了食品店，贝尔蒙特大学还为有需要的家庭提供额外的服务。这些服务包括财务教育和音乐治疗。

　　Williams-Paisley说：“人们会遇到困难，我们希望这里成为一个对所有人都安全、友好的地方，无论你是来做志愿者还是需要服务。这只是一个社区，我们都在一起。”

　　在今年的玩具店活动中，The Store收到了大约2000件捐赠物品，并筹集了20000美元。纳什维尔贝尔蒙特大学的志愿者和工作人员花了几个小时的时间，将所有捐赠的玩具打开并组织到不同的区域。

　　父母可以将他们的孩子留在附近的一个宗教中心，那里的孩子们可以玩耍并喝一杯热巧克力。与此同时，大人们可以挑选礼物。

　　Paisley说，圣诞节是他一年中最喜欢的时候。他说，他甚至可能会 dressed as Santa Claus来访问The Store，Santa Claus是一个虚构的人物，他在圣诞节为孩子们带来礼物。

　　Paisley说：“我为这个时候而活。自从我们有了孩子，甚至可能在那之前，我就全力以赴。”

　　我是Gregory Stachel。

　　这个故事是Kristin M. Hall为美联社报道的。Gregory Stachel为VOA学英语改编了这个故事。

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　　本故事中的词汇

　　aspect – n. 某事的一部分

　　load off someone's mind –习语 让某人停止担忧

　　tornado – n.一种强烈且破坏性的风暴，其中强大的风围绕一个中心点移动

　　access – n. 能够使用或获取某物的方式

　　delivery – n. 将某物送到某人或某地的行为

　　therapy – n. 对身体或精神疾病的治疗