Written by Wendy Tsai
Translated by H.B. Qin
Edited by Ariel Tsai
Deloitte is one of the world’s top four accounting firms. On June 6, 2025, 34 employees from Deloitte US visited the campus of the Tzu Chi USA Greater Washington DC Region Office to participate in the annual Deloitte Impact Day. They assisted with food distribution preparations, painted railings, and beautified the campus, demonstrating corporate social responsibility through concrete actions. This first-ever cross-sector collaboration brought young volunteers and Tzu Chi’s philosophy together in a warm and hopeful encounter, forging new connections of kindness.
Working Together to Protect the Environment
On the day of the event, Deloitte volunteers split into three teams. The first team organized the food distribution area, ensuring recipients could collect supplies in a clean and dignified environment. The second team painted the outdoor railings, paying careful attention to every brushstroke. The third team focused on cleaning and beautifying the campus grounds, revitalizing the greenery, and giving the space a fresh new look.
Hank Chi, Executive Director of the Greater Washington DC Region, said, “Deloitte holds a company-wide community service day each year. After discovering Tzu Chi USA’s Greater Washington DC Region online, they chose to collaborate with us for this year’s Deloitte Impact Day. We are delighted to interact with these young volunteers and introduce them to Tzu Chi’s story and legacy.”
This is just the beginning. We look forward to seeing them return as volunteers in the future, building more good connections with us, and working together to do even more good in the world.
Resonance Led to Collaboration
Cat-Thy Dang, a Cyber Consultant at Deloitte, shared the inspiration behind this collaboration: “The reason we decided to partner with Tzu Chi is because we are part of the Southeast Asian Network at Deloitte, and we are looking for an Asian-based nonprofit organization to partner with for our annual day of volunteering. And we just really resonated with the values that Tzu Chi stood for in terms of compassion, relief, and giving back to the community. We are super excited to be working with them this year and super grateful for this opportunity.”
I'm with Deloitte today, working with Tzu Chi Foundation, for our impact day this year in the DC area.
Rafael Febres, a Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Consultant at Deloitte, also reflected on the preparation process, expressing his gratitude to Hank Chi, “This year, me and Cat-Thy wanted to lead a local project here in the Northern Virginia area. And we were lucky enough to find Hank. So I set up a call with Hank, and he was, just from the get-go, the most caring and amazing person. He was willing to take a group of volunteers and help us through this entire process.”
From the very first outreach to every arrangement on the day of the event, both Tzu Chi and Deloitte demonstrated deep commitment and seamless cooperation. Through constant communication and close teamwork, the event proceeded smoothly and successfully. Rafael also pointed out that, in addition to hands-on work cleaning and revitalizing the campus, Tzu Chi thoughtfully organized meditation and mindfulness sessions, allowing volunteers to reflect on their intentions and learn how to build deeper connections with the community.
Tzu Chi has been absolutely wonderful, and they found ways to make this an enjoyable experience for all volunteers, something they can take home themselves for the rest of time.
Continuing the Good Connection
Through this partnership, Deloitte employees not only participated hands-on in volunteer service but also gained a deeper understanding of Tzu Chi’s wide range of community work in the Greater Washington D.C. region, including providing support to food banks in Maryland and Virginia, environmental conservation at the campus, and mindfulness courses promoting holistic well-being.
Executive Director Hank Chi noted that this collaboration marks a warm beginning, opening new possibilities for businesses and charities to work hand in hand for community benefit: “We cherish this connection and look forward to exploring more diverse and in-depth collaboration opportunities with Deloitte in the future, so that more young people can join Tzu Chi and become a force for positive change in society.”
On this day, the laughter and hard work at the Tzu Chi campus bore witness to the genuine connection and shared values between Tzu Chi and the younger generation of volunteers. It was a testament to the fact that, on the path of doing good, anyone who is willing to take the first step can help light up a corner of the world.
