Tzu Chi USA

August is the back-to-school month in the United States. Each year at this time, Tzu Chi USA prepares school supplies for distribution to underprivileged students. In 2022, the Tzu Chi USA Greater Washington DC Region planned the back-to-school distribution in partnership with Truist Financial. The bank would provide backpacks while Tzu Chi would purchase the school supplies. On the day of the distribution, August 7, a total of 335 low-income families from Maryland and Virginia received backpacks with school supplies in affiliation with the Linkages to Learning Program of Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland’s largest school district.

As residents came in to eat Tzu Chi’s vegetarian meals, it was evident that they had grown to become comfortable with the team. Since the pandemic first began, volunteers from Tzu Chi Raleigh Service Center have been working with the Durham Rescue Mission to put on dinner services.

In June of 2022, with the sun shining brightly overhead, volunteers from Tzu Chi USA’s Raleigh Service Center began organizing a stationery donation drive in North Carolina. Reuniting with our friends at Durham Rescue Mission (DRM), volunteers wished to help students prepare for the new school year with enthusiasm and peace of mind.