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San Dimas — Hurricane Katrina swept away thousands of lives last year. Those brave Katrina survivors are on their way to building new homes. To salute and better assist the Katrina evacuees who have relocated to California, Tzu Chi Foundation presented a Community Resource Day for their new friends on August 26th at Tzu Chi Headquarters in San Dimas. They brought volunteers, families and relief agencies together to exchange information, resources as well as remember those who were lost to us one year ago during Hurricane Katrina. The day was packed with activities, food and music. Free first aid, CPR training and information on emergency preparedness was made available In addition, information about Tzu Chi’s relief work since Hurricane Katrina was on display. Tzu Chi provided back-to-school supplies for all school-age students, including stationery and backpacks, and free hair cuts for the Katrina families. In addition, local relief agencies including American Red Cross, 211-Info Line, Office of Emergency Service-State of California, Office of Emergency Management-Los Angeles County, Department of Public Social Services, Department of Health Services, Emergency Preparation Department-City of Los Angeles were there to answer questions regarding additional relief resources. |
Tzu Chi gave more than $5 million in financial assistance to over 60,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees last year. Tzu Chi volunteers have reached evacuees in Houston, Beaumont, Dallas, Biloxi, Kansas City, Indianapolis, Atlanta, New York, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angles to provide not only financial assistance but also humanitarian aid. In Southern California, Tzu Chi volunteers continuously provide short-term and long-term care to more than a hundred families whose houses were destroyed by the hurricane. ABOUT TZU CHI FOUNDATION Tzu Chi is an international, volunteer-led charitable organization providing humanitarian aid, spiritual care and medical services to families and communities locally and internationally. Tzu Chi means “serving with compassion.” Tzu Chi focuses on four major service areas: charitable services, medical services, education and humanitarian development. Recently, Tzu Chi distributed several million dollars in financial assistance to families left displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Each family was met by Tzu Chi volunteers and families received financial assistance given to them directly by volunteers. Tzu Chi has 50 locations in the United States, which serve families locally. Tzu Chi also has affiliated offices in 38 countries around the world. |