What do you do when a stranger offers you a $500 gift? Barbara Robinson, an African-American woman with three daughters from Pontiac, Michigan, was faced with this question when a customer made her that offer last December during her shift at a local Wendy's. That customer, a business owner from Bloomfield Hills (an affluent suburb of Detroit), said he wanted Robinson to help him.
"He said, 'I know that you're a nice person and you treat me well whenever I come to Wendy's'," said Robinson, recalling her encounter with that customer, who wishes to remain anonymous. "'I want you to help me give money to poor people at Christmas.'"
At first Robinson was a little uneasy about accepting such a sum, and was concerned about how to spend it properly. She shared her quandary with her friend Charlie Lu, a marketing director for the nonprofit Oriental Culture Association. Robinson and Lu had been practicing a Chinese meditation exercise at a local park for about a year. Charlie Lu suggested taking poor children to Chicago to see the 2007 NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular.
"Barbara didn't want to take it, but her benefactor insisted. Then she asked me what to do with it. I suggested that she take some children and go to Chicago and see the show," explained Lu.
The show, which recreates the myths and legends of ancient China through traditional music and dance, was something that Robinson had dreamed of seeing live ever since watching a DVD of last year's performance. This special production would visit 30 cities worldwide, but would only be in Chicago (the closest venue to Robinson) for one day.
Robinson informed the donor of her plans to spend his gift, and he was delighted with her decision. Once she knew how she would spend this money, Robinson wanted to share it with as many children as possible.
"She recruited many kids, from throughout the Pontiac school district," said Lu, noting that the district primarily serves a low-income, African-American community.
Many of these children already had an interest in dance. So Robinson believed that not only would the students benefit from seeing a professional ensemble, they would also be exposed to an ancient culture that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to witness.
"I thought it was a good idea to let these children see something like this because it's so different from what they usually [encounter]," observed Robinson.
But Lu soon realized that the $500 gift, although generous, was not nearly enough to pay for tickets and travel expenses for the now 18 individuals that Robinson wished to bring to Chicago. However, instead of choosing to leave some children behind, Lu thought of a way to deliver this unique production to more students.
"We decided to do a fundraiser for her," said Lu. Approaching some contacts he had in the non-profit Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce (APACC), Lu explained his plan. Although it was a bit unconventional for this group of business people to organize such an affair, they coordinated with Lu to share Robinson's story with their members and appealed to them for sponsorship.
In addition to APACC members, Lu also sent out a press release to attract media attention for Robinson's trip, opening the circle of opportunity even wider.
The APACC business leaders were inspired by Robinson's mission to take these young dance students to Chicago to experience traditional Chinese culture. "One of the sponsors had seen the show before and was amazed by it," explained Lu, "and others were just moved by Barbara's story. In the end, we were able to raise over $3,000, which paid for tickets, hotels, food, and minivan rentals. Our donors included Indians, Korean, Japanese and Chinese as well as many non-Asian friends. We were so touched by the tremendous support from our communities, and really glad to see one man's good deed snowballing into a charity event. It felt like the movie Pay It Forward. "
With the money that was raised, Robinson was able to offer this Chinese New Year field trip to 27 individuals. The group included children ranging in age from 4 to 14, along with a few parents who acted as chaperones.
As children and parents from Robinson's group gathered together in the lobby of Chicago's Auditorium Theater after the show, they talked about the performance they just saw. Everyone seemed to have a favorite part.
"I loved it," said 8-year-old Alphonso enthusiastically on Saturday night. His friend chimed in, "I like the part with the guys guarding the gates of heaven."
"One little boy said that he liked the man with the tattoos," remembers Robinson, referring to Yue Fei, the celebrated 12th century Chinese figure portrayed in the performance. Through music and dance, the performers had reenacted the legendary story of a mother tattooing four Chinese characters on her son's back: "Serve the country loyally." Yue Fei went on to become a famous general, and one of the most respected and beloved heroes in Chinese history. The performance contains several martial arts elements set to original folk music, one of the special programs of the touring Divine Performing Troupe.
Now back in Pontiac, Robinson says that the group was highly impressed with the performance, and is looking forward to next year's show.
The Epoch Times is proud to join with New Tang Dynasty TV and Sound of Hope Radio in co-sponsoring NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular ( http://shows.ntdtv.com. )
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