In 2012, Kim Stemple, a special-education teacher, found herself tied to an IV pole（输液架）in a Boston hospital being treated for one of several diseases she had. Before she got too sick to exercise, Stemple had been a marathon runner. She was naturally getting very depressed. And then a racing partner who had just finished a half marathon in Las Vegas gave her a medal and hoped the keepsake would act as a kind of pick-me-up. It worked like a charm.
After Stemple hung the medal from her hospital IV pole, other patients said they wanted medals too. That got Stemple thinking. "A medal is a simple way to give a positive message," she told pilotonline.com. And so was born her charity, We Finish Together, which collects medals from strangers—runners, dancers, swimmers, singers, and even spelling bee winners—and donates them to all sorts of people in need.
People who receive the medals have included hospital patients, residents of homeless shelters, and veterans. Part of the process involves the donor writing a personalized note on the ribbon（授带）, "This gives them a connection to someone," says Stemple. "If they receive a medal, they know someone cares."
Can a simple medal really make a difference? Yes, says Joan Musarra, who suffers from a terrible disease. "I opened my package containing my new medal and the note of positive, warm thoughts. I was deeply touched," she wrote to Stemple. "At that moment, I was sitting on my couch breathing through an oxygen cannula（插管）because my lungs had worsened so badly. It means so much to me to feel that I am not alone."
