Tzu Chi's Financial Assistance Reaches
12,000 Evacuees in Houston, Beaumont and Dallas
HOUSTON, Texas (SEPTEMBER 13, 2005) - Relief
efforts continue as Tzu Chi provides financial assistance
in the form of checks or gift cards to evacuees in Houston,
Beaumont and Dallas. More than 4,200 families—12,000 people—have
received assistance so far.
Relief work began on Sept. 4 in Beaumont, a city about ninety
minutes by car, east of Houston at the Louisiana border. Tzu
Chi has been at the Beaumont Ford Park evacuation center for
eight days. Families there received assistance in the form
of gift cards. The gift cards allow families to purchase daily
necessities. In addition, families also received free 30-minute
phone cards.
Houston’s locations include the George R. Brown Convention
Center and the Reliant Center. Services began on Sept. 9 for
evacuees moving from these temporary shelters to more permanent
residences. Tzu Chi has issued nearly 400 checks at the two
locations. The financial assistance is about $200 per family.
In Dallas, Tzu Chi has assisted 1,151 families since Sept.
9. Elsewhere in the United States, Tzu Chi volunteers in New
York, New Jersey, Illinois and Missouri have also helped evacuees
who are relocating to these states. Chicago volunteers assisted
families moving to Kansas City, Missouri.
"In addition to providing immediate and direct financial
assistance, the Tzu Chi emergency cash gift is about letting
families know that there are many people in this country and
all over the world who really care. It is about reaching out
and giving people hope. It is about respect," says Austin
Tsao, Chief Executive Officer of Tzu Chi Foundation, U.S.A.
Since Sept. 4, more than 200 Tzu Chi volunteers have pitched
in to make sure evacuees receive the Tzu Chi emergency cash
gift. Volunteers are from Houston, Austin, Dallas, Miami,
Orlando, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, Canada. More volunteers
will be arriving this week from San Francisco and Los Angeles.
To help those impacted by Hurricane Katrina, please call 1-888-9-TZUCHI
to give by credit card or mail checks to Tzu Chi at
1100 S. Valley Center Avenue, San Dimas, CA 91773 OR 6200
Corporate Drive, Houston, TX 77036. For more information,
please call (909) 447-7799 or (713)981-8966.
