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tzu chi E

a b r i e f h i s t o r y. . . V O

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n April 14, 1966, Dharma Master Cheng Yen founded the Tzu Chi Merits Society
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in Hualien with the support of thirty housewives who each put aside a couple
Ocents of their grocery money every day to establish a charity fund. During the O

first five years, they helped a total of thirty-one elderly, ill, and poor people from fifteen S
families. As word spread, more people participated and the program gathered strength. D
It spread beyond Hualien: across the island and around the world. E
Today, Tzu Chi is a nonprofit charitable organization with ten million volunteers E
and donors in more than fifty countries worldwide. Over the past forty-seven years, Tzu S

Chi’s four missions—Charity, Medicine, Education, and Humanistic Culture—have grown
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from the seeds of gratitude, respect, and love, and Tzu Chi’s activities have expanded to H
include international disaster relief, bone marrow donation, community volunteerism,
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and environmental conservation.

In the United States, Tzu Chi operates nine regional service areas with more than D
eighty offices nationwide. Volunteers give back to their local communities through family A
services, emergency disaster services, homeless services, school support programs, E
college scholarships, income tax reporting assistance, relief distributions, holiday care R
packs, free and low-cost medical clinics and outreaches, preventive health education, P
cancer support groups, character education curricula, community education classes, and S
production of positive, inspiring media.

Whenever disaster strikes at home or abroad, Tzu Chi volunteers deliver cash aid, hot
meals, and emergency relief supplies directly into the hands of disaster survivors. Over
the years, US Tzu Chi volunteers have actively provided relief after such major disasters as
9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and Hurricane Sandy.

In recent years, Tzu Chi volunteers’ charitable work has been increasingly recognized
by the global community. In 2010, Tzu Chi was granted special consultative status with
the United Nations Economic and Social Council. In 2011, Dharma Master Cheng Yen was
recognized with the Roosevelt Institute’s FDR Distinguished Public Service Award and
named to the 2011 TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people. In 2013, Tzu Chi
was honored by the White House for its Hurricane Sandy disaster relief efforts.