一箭三雕

杨宇宸

我住的小鎮，每年九月，都会有穿着制服的学生在镇中心向路人筹款。刚来时，我对此一头雾水——他们怎么会缺钱呢？直到我也成了他们中的一员。

自从加入了学校的“军乐队”后，我经历了许多新奇而独特的事情，其中也包括向陌生人筹款。乐队每年都有两个全员参加的重大活动日——一个是洗车日，一个是“军帽日”（Shako Day）。

洗车的活动在六月。我们举着牌子和海报站在路边宣传，等车开进我们的场地后，便采用流水作业线的方式洗车。有人负责初次冲洗，有人负责打泡沫，有人负责清洁，有人负责擦干……乐队指挥们努力让工作进行得井井有条。

然而与其说是“洗车日”，倒不如说是“泼水节”。一见到水和泡沫，同学们纷纷变成了三岁小孩，又笑又闹，往彼此身上泼水、抹泡泡、扔毛巾……“洗车”变成了“洗人”。十分钟后，大家都浑身湿透，一个个成了小花猫和圣诞老人。

另一个筹款活动则是在开学后。九月初的周五晚上，结束了辛苦的排练，我们便开始张罗“军帽日”的活动。同学们穿着统一的制服，两两一组分散在镇中心的不同位置。有的在饭店门口，有的在礼品店旁边，有的守在超市，还有的在电影院附近。之所以叫作“军帽日”，是因为我们捧着表演时戴的帽子当“筹款箱”，向路过的人募捐，然后把募来的钱装在帽子里面。我第一年参加时还觉得不适应——这样捧着帽子站在街边要钱，跟乞讨有什么不同？但今年便觉得没什么大不了的，多一些别样的经历有什么不好？

去年由于我是新手，缺乏经验，一开始问的几个人都拒绝了。我有些气馁，与我同组的姐姐便给我打气：“告诉你一个窍门儿如何？那就是——脸皮要厚！”

我听后一笑，却没想到试着运用“厚脸皮”的诀窍后，成效立竿见影。一开始，由于不好意思向陌生人开口要钱，我没有自信，说话时声音小，所以自然不会有人愿意捐钱。而现在我摆出一副老手才有的落落大方的样子，微笑着向路人介绍我们的乐队，礼貌地募捐。没承想，听完我说的话后，人们纷纷慷慨解囊，我们组的帽子很快就被各种面值的纸钞和硬币给填满了。从一美分到百元大钞都有，很是壮观。有一位女士捐完钱后还亲切地对我说：“我知道你们，我和女儿在镇上看橄榄球赛时看过你们的表演。她很喜欢，还说以后要加入你们乐队呢！”

我很意外也很欣慰——没想到我们的影响力这么大！活动结束后，我看着堆满钱的帽子很有成就感，不禁想起我们教练常说的一句话——人生如戏，全靠演技！不管是不是新手，只要摆出一副自信而老练的姿态，就会让人们刮目相看。很多时候，戏演着演着就成真了，而你也成了真正的“老手”。

类似的筹款活动还有很多，我们乐队经费有三分之一都是这样来的。这样的活动不仅能快速而有效地筹到钱，还能宣传我们的乐队，而且增添了学生们社会实践的经验，简直是一箭三雕。你怎么看这样的活动呢？

英文版

In the town I live， there are students dressed in uniforms asking people for donations every September. When I just got here， I was confused about this - why would those students need money？ Until I became one of them.

Since I joined the school Marching Band， I experienced a lot of new and unique things， including asking strangers for donations. Every year， there are two major events that require everyones participation day - one is Car Wash Day； the other is Shako Day.

Car Wash Day is in June. We stand on the sidewalk and hold signs and posters to attract attention. When cars drive into our area， we wash them in an "assembly line". Some wet the car； some soap it； some clean the car； some dry it. The Drum Majors try to keep everything organized.

However， it is more appropriate to call it the "Water Festival" rather than "Car Wash Day". Once we see water and soap， all of a sudden everyone turns into three-year-olds. We pour water and soap and throw towels at each other while laughing and messing around. "Washing cars" turns into "washing people". Ten minutes into the Car Wash， everybody is soaking wet and looks ridiculous.

The other fundraising event is held after school starts. On a Friday night in early September， we start organizing the Shako Day event after working hard in rehearsal. We wear our uniforms and separate into twos， scattering ourselves around downtown. Some stand in front of restaurants； some stay by gift shops； some choose the supermarket； some stand near the movie theater. It is called "Shako Day" because we hold the shako hats that are used for performances and use them as a moneycollecting box. We ask donations from people and put the money into the Shako. In my first year， I was uncomfortable with it - holding a hat felt like begging people for money. But this year， I am fine with it - whats wrong with some unique experiences？

Last year because I was a rookie who lacked the experience， people I asked refused to donate money at first. I was a little discouraged. My partner， an older girl， encouraged me， “How would you like a tip？ Ill tell you - youve got to be cheeky！”

I laughed at that. But when I tried to apply this "cheeky" tip， it actually worked really well. At first， I was too shy to ask strangers for money， so I spoke in a low and hesitant voice - of course， no one would donate money. Now， I put on a natural and graceful mask and introduce our program to people with a smile， asking politely for their donation. Surprisingly， most people gave generous donations after hearing my speech. As a result， our hat was soon filled with bills and coins of various value. They ranged from pennies to hundred-dollar bills， quite spectacular. A lady spoke to me kindly after making a donation， "I know you guys. My daughter and I watched your performance in a football game in town. She likes it and wants to join your program in high school."

I was so shocked and happy - I didnt know we have such a huge impact！ After the event， I stared at the Shako filled with money， feeling accomplished. I suddenly remembered a quote from our instructor - life is a play； its all about the performance！ Rookie or not， you just have to fake the confidence that belongs to veterans， and people would be impressed. Many times， youll make it by faking it - thats when you become a veteran.

There are many more similar fundraising events， which are the source of one-third of the money our program needs. Activities like these not only gain money in a quick and efficient way， but they also propagate our program and build students social experiences - three benefits in one act. What do you think of these events？