Help Katrina Relief -- Reach Out, Give Hope

Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts (till 2006/02/11) Shopping gift cards to 12,065 families Cashiers checks to 5,623 families Tzu Chi debit cards to 4,799 families Total amount dispersed: US$4,120,458 to 22,487 families -- 2005.09.11 -- Tzu Chi Mallaca holds an early celebration with caregivers on September 11th. Supporting the New Orleans fundraising effort, the caregivers drop their donations in the compassion box. -- 2005.09.10 -- After two days in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, Tzu Chi has provided aide to 1,151 households of approximately 3,000 victims in the form of 1,719 shopping cards. -- 2005.09.09 -- With free transportation provided by China Airlines, Tzu Chi has shipped 10,818 medical pouch boxes to Los Angeles, California, where Tzu Chi volunteers quickly send to the hurricane victims and low income patients. Tzu Chi provides 500 households with either gift cards or emergency funds in Kansas City, Beaumont, and Houston. With the guidance of Kwok Chin Ho, CEO of Tzu Chi Canadian branch, 6 Tzu Chi volunteers arrive in Houston to join the relief team. -- 2005.09.08 -- 11 days after Hurricane Katrina raged through the Gulf Coast, reporters from Da Ai Television drive 7 hours from Texas to New Orleans in order to report on the disaster situation via satellite. After days of communication and hard work, Tzu Chi sets up a service center at George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas in order to provide care to the evacuees from Louisiana. -- 2005.09.07 -- Tzu Chi people arrive at George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas to discuss arrangements for the distribution of emergency supplies. Tzu Chi Texas distributes supplies to 41 households of 121 New Orleans Chinese evacuees at the Overseas Chinese Culture center in Houston, Texas. Tzu Chi Foundation sets up a database collecting information of missing people that will serve the Chinese community and other evacuees in a systematic way. -- 2005.09.06 -- After 40 hours of driving, the Tzu Chi Mobile Clinic finally arrived in Houston to help the evacuees of Hurricane Katrina. The mobile clinic left from the Buddhist Tzu Chi Free Clinic in the Los Angeles area early Tuesday morning. Two Tzu Chi volunteers who drove the vehicle took turns and stopped only to catch a few hours of sleep so that they can get to Houston as soon as possible. The Tzu Chi volunteers said it was a challenge to drive the 12-foot tall mobile clinic on the interstate for 1,500 miles from Los Angeles to Houston because every time a large truck passed by, they could feel the vehicle sway from side to side. According to a report from local government officials, an estimated 6000 people have been placed in the Beaumont, Texas area. Around 1500 people are housed in Beaumont Fork Park, a local shelter, while the rest of the evacuees reside at nearby motels or houses of friends and relatives. As of September 6, Tzu Chi has assisted 825 families; over half of the total families reside at Beaumont Fork Park. -- 2005.09.05 -- Tzu Chi Dallas volunteers respond to a request from the Texas Mesquite City Social Service Center to deliver urgently needed supplies for the evacuees. Tzu Chi volunteers delivered 30 cases of diapers, 30 cases of wet cleaning turbans, and 600 bottles of drinking water for the hurricane survivors. Steven Huang, the Chief Director of Global Tzu Chi Volunteer Group, leads the relief effort for 710 people at the shelter center in Beaumont, Texas. Each relief package given contains a blessing letter from Dharma Master Cheng, a $100 gift card, and a 30-minute phone card. -- 2005.09.04 -- Tzu Chi assists people residing in the shelters by giving each person $100 in the form of gift cards. Tzu Chi's emergency gift certificates will allow families to buy daily necessities, food, water, clothing and prescription medicine. -- 2005.09.03 -- In response to Dharma Master Cheng Yen's calling to "Help Katrina Relief - Reach Out, Give Hope", Tzu Chi volunteers from 40 countries have launched curbside fundraising and charity bazaars. -- 2005.09.02 -- Dharma Master Cheng Yen deeply empathizes with the Hurricane Katrina disaster situation. She urges Tzu Chi volunteers in United States to provide humanity care to the evacuees. She is asking Tzu Chi volunteers all over the world to reach out and give hope to the victims of Katrina. Many New Orleans survivors arrive in Texas. They are placed in the Beaumont Shelter Center and Houston Astrodome. US Tzu Chi volunteers have been visiting them with comfort and support.