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Quarter Century of Compassion
Charity (1997-2005)
Tzu Chi in the USA
1989 – 2014

any people think of the United States trust of school administrators and teachers who
only as a country of vast wealth, agreed to accept the book donations. Starting
Mbut in fact roughly fifteen percent in 2000, Tzu Chi frequently donated books to
of Americans—more than forty million school libraries and classrooms and even held
individuals—live in poverty. Many of them donations in which they gave one book to each
are children. In 1999, Tzu Chi volunteers in student throughout an entire school. This effort
Southern California reached out to help. They quickly expanded from Southern California to
began by looking for schools where more than Northern California and then all the way across
ninety percent of the students participated in the country to Washington D.C.
the National School Lunch Program for free or As Tzu Chi volunteers built partnerships
reduced-price meals. They chose several of these with schools through annual book donations,
schools with a particularly high percentage of they expanded their support to include tutoring
families living below the poverty line and then programs, holiday gift baskets, and free clinics.
offered to donate books to the school libraries. In Southern California, a school would nominate
At first, the volunteers' efforts were often ten of the most underprivileged families each
rebuffed or met with hesitation because of year, and Tzu Chi would hold a winter relief
cultural differences and the religious affiliation. distribution for them. A school representative
However, through persistence and hard work, would also accompany Tzu Chi volunteers as
the Tzu Chi volunteers were able to gain the they visited each family to give them holiday

San Francisco volunteers share Tzu Chi’s spirit
with sign language at a book distribution.

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