春节爱心餐，真情暖人间

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金牛报春，在全球华人欢度新春佳节之际，俄亥俄州哥伦布市的美国华人决定把庆祝农历新年的快乐分享到更广泛的社区去。亚太联盟俄州分会（Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs , APAPA）和俄亥俄华人协会（Ohio Chinese American Association, OCAA）强强联手，开启了一项新的春节传统：为无家可归收容所人员提供热腾腾的中餐，藉此传播中国文化，也把我们节日的喜悦分享到需要帮助的人群中去。

自2020年初百年一遇的疫情肆虐，食品短缺问题成为美国社会面临的严峻挑战之一。食品救助机构的捐助来源出现显著下降，然而需要帮助的人群却大幅攀升。APAPA和OCAA响应美国华人联合会（United Chinese Americans, UCA）的号召，在2020年的五月亚太裔传统月，开展了“全美华人爱心中餐日”活动， 为无家可归者以及战斗在抗疫第一线的医护人员和警察机构提供美味的中餐。此举得到俄州华人社区包括克利夫兰、哥伦布和辛辛那提等主要城市华人的热烈响应，我们不但筹措到捐赠热餐所需资金， 更为救世军（Salvation Army）和食品银行（Food Bank）筹措到超过1万美元的捐款。

下面是相关活动的几篇报道：

“爱心中餐日”活动树立了华人热心公益，关心本地社区的形象，加强了华人社区和主流社会社区服务机构的联系，增强了我们对主流社会的影响力，也为我们将来和其他社区的合作交流打下了良好的基础。

5月的活动给我们这次春节活动提供了成功经验。从我们决定给无家可归者赠餐到中国新年只有一周的时间。鉴于时间紧迫，我们将目标定为一家收容所：Van Buren Homeless Shelter。Van Buren是全美最大的无家可归收容所之一，每天可向最多800人提供食宿服务。该收容所的宗旨是尽快帮助住户安顿到永久住址，致力于从根本上解决无家可归问题。当我们提出赠餐意向后，Van Buren考虑到我们的负担，建议仅向女生部提供300份热餐。赠餐组织者们立刻兵分两路，一方面向华人社区发起筹款倡议， 另一方面积极联络餐馆，落实订单。

一年以来，俄州华人社区已经多次慷慨解囊。2020年社区为抗疫捐赠数十万元。近期许多人为资助几位被起诉的华人教授，再次大力相助。“我们是不是还能够得到大家的支持？” — 组织者们心中并无把握。然而广大华人总是在最需要的时候挺身而出，伸出援助的手，短短一周就筹集到近千美金，基本解决了300份热餐的资金来源。“众人拾柴火焰高!” — 听着来自捐款人的留言，我们坚定了这个倡议将取得成功的信心。

2021年2月12日，农历新年如期而至，APAPA和OCAA的志愿者们把精心挑选的三十几大盘热腾腾的中餐准时送到Van Buren。黑椒鸡柳、牛肉西兰花、炒饭、炒面都是广受欢迎的中餐菜品，Van Buren的餐厅工作人员欣喜不已。在中餐之外，志愿者们还送去了近1万只一次性口罩和48瓶消毒洗手清洁液。

目前，新冠疫情仍然形势严峻，但我们希望在华人社区欢庆新年之际，当大家在享受这个快乐祥和、充满希望的时刻，能让更多的社区来分享农历新年的精神。

在此我们倡议全美华人一起加入到这个春节新传统：在农历新年为需要帮助的社区送去爱心中餐，展示华人关爱社区的情怀，宣扬中华文化，让主流社区对华人社区更加了解和支持，让这个新传统成为美国华人庆祝农历新年的标志性活动之一。

2021年是牛年，牛代表着力量，坚韧，忠心和财富。相信我们一定能众志成城，扭转乾坤，战胜新冠病毒，恢复生活原本的美好。祝大家阖家安康，快乐美满，恭喜发财，牛年大吉。

在此特别鸣谢以下捐款个人： 

Y. Lu

Y. Jia

J. Leng

G. Shen

H. Luo

H. Yao

K. Ling

L. Chen

W. Wang

X. Yuan

Y. Zhang

W. Zhao

Y. Deng

F. Tang

G.Wang

H. Chen

H. Qiu

L. Cao

N. Li

T. Huang

Y. Mu

Z. Shen

Z. Li

英文原文：

Lunar New Year’s Dinner for Homeless Shelter

The Year of Ox: a Year of Resilience, Hope and Rebound

The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is an important holiday celebrated by Asian communities around the world. It marks the end of the winter season and beginning of the spring season. During this holiday people of Asian descent gather with family and friends to look back at the accomplishments and challenges during the past year, plan for the next year and wish each other good health and success. As the Central Ohio Chinese community rejoices in the outlook and blessings brought by the Lunar New Year, they want to spread the spring festival spirit beyond the Asian community. 

On February 12, 2021, the Lunar New Year's Day for the Year of Ox, more than 30 large trays of delicious hot Chinese food (value of $1,500) were delivered to the 300 residents at the Van Buren Shelter, one of the largest homeless shelters in the country that plays a critical role in ending homelessness in central Ohio. All dishes were ordered from Supreme Buffet & Hibachi, a popular Chinese restaurant in Hilliard. On the menu, there were black pepper chicken, beef broccoli, fried rice, and lo mein, all are the most popular dishes and are recommended by the restaurant.  

The event was organized by APAPA Ohio (the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Ohio Chapter) and OCAA (the Ohio Chinese American Association). The funds to purchase the dishes were donated by caring individuals from the local Chinese community. Below are the links to the organizers' online pages.

APAPA Ohio:

https://www.facebook.com/apapaohio

OCAA:

http://www.ohiocaa.org/

Food insecurity remains a challenge in America, the richest country in the world. It is estimated that due to the coronavirus pandemic, more than 50 million people may experience food insecurity. In 2020, Community organizers mobilized the Central Ohio Chinese community, hosted fund raising events, procured and donated COVID relief supplies to hospitals, and delivered free food to help fight against COVID and hunger in Central Ohio throughout the year. The community raised around $200,000 to acquire personal protection equipment (PPE) from around the world to support frontline workers, senior homes and homeless shelters. As a part of the hunger relief effort, the community provided 1,000 hot Chinese meals in the “Food of Love” event held during the Asian Heritage Month in 2020. The community also made more than $10,000 in cash donation to the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and the Salvation Army, and provided hundreds of pounds of non-perishable food, disposable masks and antibacterial hand soap to the Dublin Food Pantry.

2021 is the Year of the Ox in Chinese zodiac. Ox exemplifies diligence, dependability, strength and determination. We are hopeful that with the spirit of the Ox, our nation will be able to recover and rebound from the pandemic, and work with all communities to progress towards racial equity. The Chinese Community wishes everyone health, happiness and prosperity in the Year of the Ox!

【编者按】本文仅代表作者观点，不代表APAPA Ohio及OCAA官方立场。所有图片均由作者提供或来自网络。如存在版权问题，请与我们联系。更多精彩文章，请查看我们公众号的主页。欢迎大家积极投稿！

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关于俄州亚太联盟公众号

俄州亚太联盟公众号是APAPA Ohio在Ohio Chinese American Association（俄亥俄华人协会OCAA）的支持下办的公众号，旨在为俄亥俄的亚裔群体、尤其是华人群体提供一个分享、交流、互助的平台，宣传APAPA Ohio 、OCAA和其他亚裔团体的活动，促进亚裔社区对美国社会、政治、文化、体育、艺术、教育、法律等的了解。APAPA的全名是Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (美国亚太联盟)，是在美国联邦政府注册的501(c)(3)非营利组织。