Written by Hungli Tsai
Translated by H.B. Qin
Edited by Ariel Tsai
At 7:00 a.m., at the Spring Free Clinic in San Bernardino, Southern California, volunteers started up the heavy dental equipment, generators, and power storage units. They busied themselves filling distilled water for the dental scaling machines and ensuring that everything was working properly.
At 7:30 a.m., station managers and volunteers—including those responsible for pre-registration, registration, and triage, as well as EHR volunteers—arrived on site. This free clinic brought together a total of 170 people: doctors, nurses, community volunteers, Tzu Chi volunteers, Tzu Ching (Tzu Chi Collegiate Association), Tzu Shao (Tzu Chi Youth Group), Tzu Shao parents, and dental assistant students from Concord Dental School. Working together in harmony, they served 99 patients in total, including 68 first-time patients who had never been to the clinic before.
At 9:00 a.m., Tzu Ching volunteer Melinda Wu hosted the opening ceremony. Audio volunteer Long Truong prepared five videos to be played at the event. Medical Director Peiyu Kan led everyone in a simple yoga session to help the volunteers relax both body and mind, refresh their spirits, improve their mood, and relieve anxiety and tension. At the same time, she reminded everyone that while dedicating themselves fully to service, it is also important to take care of themselves.
Do One’s Part for the Community
The opening ceremony began with remarks from Dr. Stephen Denq, CEO of the Tzu Chi Medical Foundation: “We have been here for many years now. I believe it’s 30 years. Some of you are very first-timers, so I let you know; some of you are veterans, and I thank you so much for the continuing support.”
“It takes both parties to make it happen. We are the providers, the ones who help to provide medical services. But we also have our patients who are receiving our services. We are equally important. We cannot do, or perform, or do it for commission without either. Our Master has always been teaching us: we do what we can, we are giving something, but there is really nothing that is actually given. It’s the relationship we created that is worth treasuring.”
I’m sure it’s going to be a good day. We do our best. We’ll try to provide good service, since we are not very busy today, so that our patients are very happy when they walk away. And we are very happy because that’s what we are here to do. Thank you so much!
Cynthia Zavala, Assistant Director of the San Bernardino City Unified School District, also spoke: “So glad that you are with us today. I am a proud employee of the District. My name is Cynthia Zavala. My department is Family Engagement, and we are your host today. We are so excited that you’re with us. We’re honored that you have decided and dedicated today to serving our amazing community. San Bernardino has over forty-four thousand students in the district alone, so that is a big task. Every time we have these events, we promote them, we encourage our families, we have our translators and others in the gymnasium supporting us, so that they can remove the barriers, in order to receive the support today.”
We appreciate your hearts, we are grateful for them. On behalf of our superintendent, Mauricio Arellano, as well as our assistant superintendent, Dr. Sandra Rodriguez, we thank you, we welcome you with open arms, and we look forward to the continued partnership. Have a wonderful day everyone, thank you!
Face to Face with Patients
San Bernardino is a city known for its ethnic diversity, with residents of Latino, white, African American, Asian, and other backgrounds. A large proportion of the population is of Mexican descent, and Spanish is commonly spoken in the community.
Volunteer Spanish interpreter Joseph Vincent lived in Taiwan and stayed with a Taiwanese host family for a year when he was 16. He said, “My host mom, who happened to be a Tzu Chi volunteer, invited me to accompany her to the environmental station to help with environmental protection. After I returned to the U.S., I continued to help as an interpreter.”
Pharmacist Athena Lee said, “Thank you [Tzu Chi] for having me. I’m very grateful to have to be a part of this meaningful team. I love that we get to do this on a regular basis, create relationships with these patients. I feel like Tzu Chi is very meaningful, and they are out here to help people who need it. Very direct patient care, no red tape, that is the beauty of this”.
Traditional Chinese Medicine Alleviates Stubborn Illness
Dr. Ho-Yi Tu, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, shared, “A patient from Mexico left a deep impression on me. He suffered from lower back and wrist pain, as well as pain in both shoulders, for five or six years. He had seen doctors, but his condition never improved. I first identified the root cause—his whole body was cold, a cold syndrome, and all his meridians were blocked, leading to soreness and pain. I performed acupuncture at the Guanyuan point and the Zusanli point on the Yangming meridian, warmed the points before gently massaging to raise his body temperature. After 20 minutes of acupuncture, he felt warmth spread through his body, was very comfortable, and happily kissed me on the cheek, saying he had never felt so good before.”
I am grateful to Master Cheng Yen for creating the world of Tzu Chi, which allows us to connect with so many patients who suffer from pain. I love volunteering at Tzu Chi’s free clinics. Amitabha!
TCM Dr. Jeng Chen said, “At this clinic, our support with TCM was mainly in the health and recreation area. The organizers set up this space for disaster survivors to relieve stress and rest, not specifically for acupuncture treatment. So we TCM practitioners used other methods besides acupuncture—such as ear seeds, herbal patches, and acupressure. Dr. Shihkuang Chao also brought electric heating pads and foot massagers, and arranged a very comfortable bed to serve the patients.”
Tzu Ching volunteer Alyssa Yao, described as sweet and kind, knelt down to help patients fill out their information forms, earning a thumbs-up and praise from one patient: “You’re the best”.
Alyssa, a college junior, shared: “I want to go to medical school; it’s been my dream since I was little to become a doctor. I feel very fortunate to participate in the free clinic and help people of different backgrounds in the community. Sometimes, patients who don’t speak English, Spanish, or Chinese come. I can help translate for them so they can receive more complete health care.”
Help Them Smile Again
Tzu Ching volunteer Matthew Duong said, “I’m part of the Tzu Ching at UC Riverside. I’ve been a part of Tzu Ching for three years. I joined at first for the food, but I stayed for the community.”
“Coming from a Vietnamese immigrant background, I’ve always wanted to make others feel more at home (when coming to Tzu Chi), more comfortable. As you can see, Tzu Chi not only provides all medical and optometry, dental: all sorts of services, but they also make patients from any background feel more at home,” Duong said.
I'm just really happy to volunteer in whatever role I can. Thank you, Tzu Chi, you guys have really given me an opportunity to serve my community. And I look forward to continually coming out to serve. So thank you (Tzu Chi).
Tzu Ching volunteer Alvin Yu from UC Riverside said, “I joined this medical outreach because I want to help more people. The station I’m working at is the dental station because I’m interested in a dental career. I help people that are uninsured, and I’ve seen people with a lot of bad teeth, and I want to make them smile again.”
With the help of translation volunteer Joseph Vincent, mother and daughter care recipients Nancy Garcia and Katherine Ximena shared that Katherine came in for a tooth extraction, which didn’t hurt anymore, while Nancy recently had a cold and was prescribed cough medicine. They moved to the U.S. two months ago, and, feeling nervous and worried, also came to see a TCM practitioner.
Companionship that Nourishes Without Speaking
Tzu Chi volunteer and community education outreach specialist Curtis Hsing has extensive experience in emergency relief. Whenever a major incident or natural disaster occurs in the United States, Tzu Chi volunteers mobilize within days to launch an emergency response. In addition to distributing emergency cash cards, daily necessities, and food, volunteers also provide comfort and support to disaster survivors with empathy and warmth, and plan mid- and long-term rebuilding projects to accompany survivors as they restore their homes.
The first phase of Tzu Chi USA’s emergency relief for the Los Angeles wildfires has now been successfully completed. As of February 28, Tzu Chi USA had mobilized over 1,800 volunteer shifts to organize 24 large-scale disaster distributions, assisting 4,339 affected households and providing a total of $4,677,200 in cash cards to 18,226 disaster survivors. The Tzu Chi bamboo bank symbolizes the spreading of love, drop by drop. Tzu Chi brings disaster relief efforts to every corner of the world.
During the difficult times when many were displaced by wildfires, Tzu Chi USA partnered with Listos California to remind families to keep emergency kits packed and ready, ensuring all household members, including pets, could evacuate to safety as quickly as possible. Every household was encouraged to join an emergency alert system to receive evacuation notices in real time. Most importantly, free CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) training was provided.
The spring clinic provided services including TCM, Western medicine, dentistry, blood draws, and pharmacy, serving nearly 100 patients. Pharmacists Jenny Pan and Athena Lee, both holding doctoral degrees, offered professional medication counseling and pharmacy services and prepared prescriptions according to doctors’ orders—an essential role in ensuring medication safety.
The Inland Region’s first free clinic of 2025 was successfully completed thanks to the collaboration of all medical professionals, community volunteers, medical volunteers, Tzu Ching, Tzu Shao, and Tzu Shao parents. Every volunteer should be thanked for their selfless dedication—each person is like an indispensable screw, without whom this clinic would not have been possible.
