Sam Lee
A Hong Kong native, Sam Lee is a member of Wokai's Seattle Chapter. When he's not spreading the word about Wokai, he works for Amazon.com.
Recently I received a gift from my good friend Vic in the form of an email: “Vic made a donation to Wokai in your name...” Connecting the dots, I realized it was a birthday gift! Some old memories started coming back: last year we made a pact to stop sending gifts by mail, since it's not very environmentally-friendly. So here it was, a virtual gift with real-world impact!
When we talked, I asked her if she had any feedback about the website in general. She asked, “can I donate, say, $8 as a form of red packet for my friends overseas?” (In Chinese, the number eight is associated with luck.)
I was dumbfounded. What a GREAT idea!
Well, it was a bit too late to do it “right” on Wokai directly. However, if you're like me, and procrastinate but are willing to use whatever workaround, here is what I just did to send my friend B a belated Chinese New Year greeting, across the Pacific Ocean.
1. I contributed $8 to Liming’s loan to help her raise cattle.
2. As a lucky money alternative, I attached my donation receipt email to the Chinese New Year greeting I sent my friend B.
3. I finished the greeting with a bit of personal news! Holidays are a great time to catch up with friends.
Wishing you all a belated happy Chinese new year! 祝您身体健康! (That says, "I wish you good health")
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