On Saturday, March 14th, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, the Newtown AYLUS Branch helped sort boxes and toys for United Way.
Our main job was to organize the boxes and toys on the shelves, ensuring everything on each shelf was neatly arranged and sorted by category. At first, we adopted a strategy in which each person was responsible for one shelf and organized their own area. Everything was going smoothly until the last 30 minutes, when we encountered a particularly messy toy shelf, with items scattered haphazardly and extremely difficult to sort. By then, everyone was already very tired, and it was hard to muster the energy to organize such a chaotic shelf. So we changed our strategy and decided to work together to sort this shelf. But another problem emerged: there were so many types of toys that it was hard to tell which ones belonged to the same category. So we decided to start with the larger toys, grouping water guns and toy guns, and then sorting the card games. In short, we began by classifying the larger items and gradually moved on to the smaller ones. We worked together in a well-organized manner and quickly completed what seemed like an impossible task. This shelf was sorted much faster than any of the others. From this experience, we understood the importance of teamwork. And some things may seem terrifying and impossible to accomplish, but in fact, as long as we take the first step bravely, we will find that it is not as terrifying as we imagined. What is terrifying is only the fear and laziness in our hearts.
Members who participated were Henry Wang (Event Leader) and Ella Chen, both for 2 hours