一封邮件引发的思考

马文

清明节是中华民族古老的节日，扫墓祭祖也是人们缅怀故人的方式和责任。除此之外，还有什么方法祭奠亲人呢？

今天收到一个熟悉的朋友Sarah的邮件：

As most of you know, my partner, Jamie, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2014. Given just three years to live, he surpassed all medical expectations and lived for seven years, sadly losing his battle in October last year. Jamie did not want his loved ones to go through the heartache of a funeral. A party was much more his style! So, a ‘Celebration of Life’ party will be held on what would have been his birthday and I’m sure he’d be saddened to miss out on all the fun and joy which will be had.

I am doing my very best to honour all of Jamie’s final wishes, one of which was to raise some funds to give back to a few of the charities that supported him and indeed us as a family, throughout his illness. Therefore, Becky (Sarah的朋友)and I have organised a raffle with many great prizes; all proceeds being split equally between MNDA (Motor Neurone Disease Association), St Michael’s Hospice in Hereford and the ‘Band of Builders,’ who transformed our family home in 2018 to enable Jamie to have better access in his wheelchair and spend time in the garden, making lots of memories with his family, whilst he still could. 

With so many great prizes on offer, I do hope that you will help me in raising much needed funds as a thank you for their care and support. In addition to the top prizes (a family holiday, a weekend convertible Mini experience, a commissioned painting by Judy Young and a signed Ed Sherran CD,) I also have champagne, wine, beauty treatments, two complimentary cut and blow dry’s, vouchers for Pixibox, a limited edition print from, a £30 voucher for Faun in Mawen, a family day out to Eastnor Castle, a luxury hamper, a voucher for MawenTheatre, plus many more.

What is not to love about this raffle? If you would like to purchase a ticket (£1 per ticket or £5 per book,) please do email me, or come and find me in the PD.The draw will take place on 15.5.22.



正如你们大多数人所知，我的伴侣吉米在 2014 年被诊断出患有运动神经元疾病。医生预测他只能活三年，但超出了所有医学预测，他活了七年，于去年十月遗憾地过世。吉米不希望他的亲人经历心碎的葬礼。聚会更像是他的风格！因此，我们将在他生日那天举行“庆祝生命”派对，我相信他会为错过所有的乐趣和快乐而难过。

我正在尽我最大的努力来实现吉米的所有最终愿望，其中之一就是筹集一些资金来回馈一些在他生病期间支持他以及我们作为一个家庭的慈善机构。因此，好朋友Becky 和我将组织一次抽奖活动，有很多大奖；所有收益均在 MNDA（运动神经元疾病协会）、赫里福德的 St Michael's Hospice 和“建设者乐队”之间平分，他们在 2018 年改造了我们的家庭住宅，让吉米生前能够容易地坐在轮椅上在花园里度过时光，与家人留下了很多回忆。

以下提供了很多大奖，我希望您能帮助我筹集急需的资金，以感谢他们的关心和支持。除了顶级奖品（家庭假期、周末敞篷迷你体验、Judy Young 的委托绘画和 Ed Sherran 签名 CD），我还有香槟、葡萄酒、美容护理、两次免费剪发和吹风机、优惠券Pixibox，India Wilkinson(一个因脑瘤医治无效而止于18岁的优秀女娃)的限量版印刷品，30 英镑的Faun 代金券(当地知名餐厅)，伊斯特诺城堡的家庭一日游，豪华礼篮，当地剧院的代金券等等。

如果您想购买一张票（每张票 1 英镑或每本 5 英镑），请给我发电子邮件，或者来部门找我。抽奖将于 15.5.22 举行。

Sarah的好朋友Becky工作的机构叫PGL。

PGL takes its name from the initials of Peter Gordon Lawrence, the man who started the company 60 years ago.

However, the reality is that to many people, PGL means an awful lot more. As the company has been in existence for 60 years there are now grandparents from all over the world with happy memories of their PGL holidays, who have in turn seen their children and grandchildren follow in their footsteps. Others have been inspired by their PGL experience to embark on a career in the outdoor industry, in teaching or have begun a lifelong love for an activity or sport.

To many people, PGL will always stand simply for "Parents Get Lost" as they experienced their first stay away from home at a PGL centre and relished the independence and self-confidence it brought.

(https://www.pgl.co.uk/en-gb/news-hub/news/what-does-pgl-mean?Action=1&PID=49547)

PGL 得名于 60 年前创办公司的 Peter Gordon Lawrence 的首字母。

然而，现实情况是，对于很多人来说，PGL 意味着更多。由于公司已经存在了 60 年，现在来自世界各地的祖父母对他们的 PGL 假期有着美好的回忆，他们反过来也看到他们的子孙追随他们的脚步。其他人则受到他们 PGL 经验的启发，开始从事户外行业、教学或开始对一项活动或运动的终生热爱。

对很多人来说，PGL 永远只是“Parents Get Lost”(迷茫的家长）的代名词，因为他们在 PGL 中心经历了第一次离开伤痛的家，并享受着它带来的独立和自信。



简单说，这个PGL组织应该是帮助那些家庭出现变故的孩子及父母的慈善机构。这些组织中很多人都是义工，有退休人员，或者曾经的受益人。他们用自己的经验或知识，去帮助新的需要帮助的人。



慈善，这个曾被认为是富人参与的活动，在英国却毫无门槛。英国人爱做慈善，慈善组织从保护动物，关心儿童，老人和特殊群体，方方面面，无不涉及。而慈善店便是英国各慈善组织的门面，英国的慈善店开遍各地的大街小巷，这里不仅饱含英国人的爱心，这里更是体现了一种英式节俭环保的生活方式。

英国现在最常见的慈善组织有以下几家

British Heart Foundation （英国心脏基金会）；

Barnardos（儿童慈善组织）；

Cancer Research UK（英国癌症研究组织）；

Shelter（流浪者基金会）；

Marie Curie Cancer Care（玛丽居里癌症护理）；

Save the Children（儿童救助会）；

Scope（残障人组织）；

PDSA（宠物基金会）；

Blue Cross （流浪动物保护会）等等

(https://www.pandainuk.com/article/cishanzuzhi20210414)



作为世界早期慈善发源地之一，英国有着十分悠久的慈善历史和慈善文化。英国慈善组织多样化的实现方式，促进了英国的慈善组织以各种方式拉动英国的民众捐赠。据统计，英国慈善最大的捐款来源是民众，第二大来源是政府，其他收入包括投资收入、国家彩票、机构捐赠、有偿服务获得的收入等。民众捐款流向的三个主要领域为：儿童发展、医疗研究、医疗福利。目前，英国有20万个慈善机构。

(http://www.gongyishibao.com/html/zhuanlan/2020/0114/18087.html)

社会监督也是英国慈善的重要监管方式，具体包括新闻媒体的监督、社会大众的监督、内部人员的举报，其他还有第三方部门的信息公布和审计。慈善委员会要求慈善组织做定期的信息公开，这使得民众可以更便捷地参与到慈善组织的监督中来。



说到志愿者，英国民众的“义工”意识极强。远的不提，身边的好朋友Anne参加的是莫里斯舞蹈队，定期表演为Guide Dog(导盲犬)组织募捐。邻居凯罗兰，退休后每周去剧院做义工，特别是假期去帮助小孩子。而马凯先生，退休后专门去附近的小学做三天义工，用他曾经的教育背景，去辅导孩子们学习。对门邻居皮特先生，80岁了，常常戴着手套、握着长柄夹子，沿街捡路边的垃圾。他最爱说的话是：“保护环境，人人有责”。



不为金钱、不为名利；快乐自己、帮助他人！也许，这是健康长寿的重要因素‼️

看，薄德文老先生100岁了！👍👍👍👍👍 还收到了女王送的生日贺卡！👏👏👏👏👏👏👏女王本人马上要过96岁生日了！🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

保持良好的心态，养成良好的生活习惯，适当锻炼😀😀😀😀😃 离健康长寿就不远啦！👍👍👍👍👍