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

volunteers, friends, and relatives, and they spread out in all directions to
buy bottled water. Soon, more than thirty volunteers were rushing water
and supplies to the Salvation Army office near the Chelsea Piers. Another
group of Tzu Chi volunteers traveled to the family assistance centers to
provide Chinese-English interpreting.

Austin Tsao, then CEO of Tzu Chi, quickly traveled to New York to
oversee relief efforts. On September 18, Tzu Chi’s very first cash relief
distribution was held at the Salvation Army service center, with affected
families receiving five hundred dollars each to help pay unexpected
costs and ease their minds as they navigated through a difficult time.
The next day, Tzu Chi volunteers were permitted to enter the New York
City Family Assistance Center at Pier 94 to assist and provide interpreting
for people looking for missing family members and friends or seeking
government assistance. Volunteers also distributed cash cards and daily
necessities and set up assistance centers in New Jersey's Liberty State
Park and New York's Chinatown.
On October 13, 2001, just a few days after the United States
launched military action in Afghanistan, Tzu Chi Global Headquarters in
Hualien initiated the “One Person, One Good Deed” movement, aimed
at freeing the world from disasters. On the same day, Tzu Chi volunteers
held a memorial service in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park, directly across
the Hudson River from the World Trade Center site, to pray for victims
and their families and for world peace.
Tzu Chi’s three service centers stayed open until December 28.
During the three months they were in operation, volunteers delivered
over $1.6 million in aid and provided assistance to more than 3,300
families.

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