美国老人捡零钱 2万美元捐助流浪猫

Never underestimate the true value of a handful of pocket change.

永远不要小看一把零钱的价值。

Rick Snyder, a 69-year-old resident of Manatee County, Florida, refused to sit still after he retired. Instead, he tended to one of his passions outside of work: caring for the feral cats living throughout his community."I've always liked animals. I've been taking care of feral cats for years and I started noticing a lot of change laying around," Snyder told the Bradenton Herald. "So I started picking it up and keeping track of it."

69岁的里克·斯奈德住在福罗里达州的孟那堤郡，虽然已经退休但他并不甘心每天坐在摇椅里无所事事，而是做着工作以外自己热爱的事：照顾和他生活在同一个社区的野猫。“我一直很喜欢动物。我照顾这些野猫已经有很多年了。有一天我发现地上有很多遗落的硬币，”斯奈德对《布雷登顿先驱报》说道。 “于是就开始捡硬币并做好记录。”

Since having this idea more than 10 years ago, Snyder has managed to collect $21,495 in loose change weighing more than 1 metric ton, reported the Herald Tribune. Waking up around 4 a.m. each day, Snyder would walk through town, and gather coins from vacuums at local car washes and [vending machine]vending machines [/w]along his way to take care of the cats. He told the Bradenton Herald that he walks anywhere between 45 and 48 miles each week and collects an average of $5.60 in change each day.

据《国际先驱报》报道，自十年前产生这一想法以来，斯奈德已经积攒了21,495美元遗失的硬币，重量超过一公吨。斯奈德每天四点左右起床，为了捡硬币几乎走遍了整个小郡。有时会从当地洗车行的吸尘器里捡到几枚，有时在看猫的路上也能在沿途的自动售货机旁捡到几枚。他告诉《布雷登顿先驱报》，他每周要走上45到48英里的路，平均每天能捡到5.60美元的硬币。

After beginning the collection process, Snyder set an initial goal of $10,000 for himself, according to BayNews9. Once he surpassed his second goal of $20,000, however, he decided to give it all away to the Gulf Shore Animal League, a nonprofit organization run entirely by volunteers that spends the majority of their time helping cats in Manatee County. Cheryl Wade, the president of the organization, told the Bradenton Herald that Synder's donation is the largest they have ever received from a single individual。

据美国有线电视资讯频道BayNews9报道，捡硬币后不久老人就给自己设下了目标，起初要攒下10，000美元，而后则要攒下20.000美元。当手中的硬币已经超过20，000美元时，斯奈德决定把所有钱捐给一个叫作海湾海岸动物联盟的非赢利组织。该组织完全由一群志愿者管理，他们的大部分时间都花在了帮助孟那提郡的猫上。联盟主席谢丽尔·韦德告诉《布雷登顿先驱报》，斯奈德的捐款是他们收过的来自个人的最大笔捐款。

"I’d like to thank the many who are too lazy to pick up a penny," Snyder told BayNews9.

“我要感谢那些懒得拾起1美分的人，”斯奈德对BayNews9说道。

With the change, the league will be able to continue adopting cats, and funding their spay and neuter program. They will also offer care for kittens before they are ready for adoption. Snyder and volunteers from the league gathered Tuesday to move the coins from his 151 peanut jar collection system to plastic bags that could be delivered to the local bank.

有了这些钱，动物联盟就能继续收养孟那堤郡的野猫，继续资助猫咪节育计划。除此之外，联盟还将对尚未准备好来到组织的小猫提供帮助。本周二，斯奈德和联盟的志愿者们一起，把放在151个花生酱罐里的硬币取出后装在若干塑料袋里，以便运到当地银行。

"One of the problems we have being retirees is we become too self-involved," Snyder told the Herald Tribune. "My advice is, we need to get involved in something else. Do something for someone else."

“退休后我们的一大问题就是变得过于自我，” 斯奈德对《国际先驱报》说道。“我的建议是把注意力转移到其他事情上。为他人做些事。”

While this initial donation has been deposited, Snyder continues to gather abandoned pocket change throughout Manatee County and prep his next contribution that will help his feline friends.

斯奈德的第一笔捐款已被存入银行，他将继续在孟那堤郡的土地上拾起被人遗弃的硬币，准备着下一次的捐款，帮助他的猫咪朋友。