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Four years ago, country music star Brad Paisley and his wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, helped create a free food store in Nashville, Tennessee. Their goal was to give families in need the ability to choose their own food in a place that felt like a normal store. They named it The Store.
The Store is a partnership with Nashville’s Belmont University, where Paisley earned his degree.
The Store is turning into a free toy store ahead of the Christmas holiday. The event began Friday. For two days, chosen families could pick out new toys, video games, stuffed animals, makeup and other gifts.
Paisley said, “The emotional aspect of being able to give your child something your child wanted versus just something to sort of get you through the holidays…that’s such a load off the minds of somebody who maybe didn’t think they were going to be able to do that.”
Paisley and Williams-Paisley brought the idea of a free food store to Nashville after seeing a similar effort in California. The Store launched in early 2020. Its opening came just weeks after a powerful tornado hit the area and shortly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic made food access an urgent problem.
The Store changed its methods to meet people’s needs. It turned into a food delivery service for older people. It delivered one million meals in its first year of operation.
Along with the food store, Belmont University also offers additional services to families in need. They include financial education and music therapy.
“People come on hard times and we want this to be a safe, welcoming place for everybody, whether you’re volunteering or whether you’re needing the services,” Williams-Paisley said. “It’s just a community and we’re all in it together.”
For this year’s toy store event, The Store received about 2,000 donated objects and raised $20,000. Volunteers and workers from Belmont University in Nashville spent hours opening and organizing all of the donated toys into different areas.
Parents will be able to drop off their kids at a religious center nearby, where they can play and drink a hot chocolate. The adults can pick out gifts at the same time.
Paisley said Christmas is his favorite time of year. He said he might even visit The Store dressed as Santa Claus, the make-believe person who brings gifts for children on Christmas.
“I live for this time of year,” Paisley said. “Ever since we’ve had children and possibly even before, I kind of go all out.”
I’m Gregory Stachel.
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Words in This Story
aspect – n. a part of something
load off someone's mind – idiom to allow someone to stop worrying
tornado – n. a violent and destructive storm in which powerful winds move around a central point
access – n. a way of being able to use or get something
delivery – n. the act of taking something to a person or place
therapy – n. the treatment of physical or mental illnesses
参考译文：
四年前，乡村音乐明星布拉德·佩斯利和他的妻子、女演员金伯利·威廉姆斯-佩斯利，在田纳西州纳什维尔帮助创建了一家免费食品商店。他们的目标是让有需要的家庭在一个感觉像普通商店的地方自己挑选食物。他们给这个商店取名为“The Store”（商店）。
“The Store”是与纳什维尔的贝尔蒙特大学合作的，佩斯利曾在这里获得学位。
在圣诞节假期来临之际，“The Store”将变成一家免费的玩具商店。活动于星期五开始。在接下来的两天里，被选中的家庭可以挑选新玩具、电子游戏、毛绒动物、化妆品和其他礼物。
佩斯利说：“能够给孩子一个孩子想要的东西，而不仅仅是一些应付假期的东西，这在心理上是一种减负，对于那些可能认为自己办不到的人来说尤其如此。”
佩斯利和威廉姆斯-佩斯利在加州看到类似努力后，将免费食品商店的想法带到了纳什维尔。该商店于2020年初启动。它的开业刚好在该地区遭受强烈龙卷风袭击的几周后，也正好在新冠疫情爆发之前。疫情使得食品获取成为一个紧迫问题。
“The Store”改变了其方法以满足人们的需求。它变成了为老年人提供食品递送服务。在运营的第一年里，它提供了一百万份餐食。
除了食品商店，贝尔蒙特大学还为有需要的家庭提供额外的服务，包括财务教育和音乐疗法。
威廉姆斯-佩斯利说：“人们在困境中，我们希望这是一个安全、友好的地方，无论你是志愿者还是需要服务的人。这只是一个社区，我们都在一起。”
在今年的玩具商店活动中，“The Store”收到了约2000件捐赠物品，并筹集了2万美元。来自纳什维尔的贝尔蒙特大学的志愿者和工作人员花费数小时将所有捐赠的玩具分门别类地整理摆放。
家长们可以把孩子送到附近的一个宗教中心，在那里他们可以玩耍，喝杯热巧克力。成年人可以同时挑选礼物。
佩斯利说，圣诞节是他一年中最喜欢的时光。他表示，他可能会扮演圣诞老人，这位虚构的人物在圣诞节为儿童带来礼物。
佩斯利说：“我热衷于这个时节。自从我们有了孩子，甚至可能在那之前，我都会全情投入。”
