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Buddhist groups help Spokane families recover from wildfires
Tzu Chi USA and the Spokane Buddhist Temple are helping wildfire survivors with emergency aid, financial support and long-term recovery after the Spokane Complex Wildfire.
By Cassy Benefield | FāVS News Associate Editor
Two Buddhist groups have been a part of the fire recovery work in Spokane since three fires, known as the Spokane Complex Wildfire, destroyed 921 structures and burned about 9,900 acres in early August.
Tzu Chi USA — a 60-year-old international humanitarian nonprofit — has sent about 40 volunteers to Spokane’s Disaster Assistance Center in Shadle High School three times: Aug. 6-9 to help with intake forms and Aug. 22-23 and Sept. 5-6 to give assistance.
Compassion in action
Driven by the philosophy of “Buddhism in action,” volunteers are encouraged to enter disaster zones and to assist individuals in person, often at their own expense, said Angela Wan, director of Tzu Chi Seattle and a volunteer of the organization for the last 33 years.
“We believe Buddhism should be in action, not only in the temple to do the sutra readings and the meditation,” Wan said. Tzu Chi’s name, phonetically pronounced “tsuh-jee” or “tsu-chi,” literally means compassion (tzu) and relief (chi) or “relieving suffering with compassion.”
Tzu Chi was founded in Taiwan in 1966 by Buddhist nun Ven. Master Cheng Yen, who is referred to as the Mother Teresa of Asia. It began humbly by five female disciples of Cheng Yen and also 30 housewives, who raised the funds for a hospital.
Today, offices are located across five continents, providing aid in 100 countries and addressing both material and spiritual suffering through charity, medicine, education, culture, disaster relief, environmental protection and volunteerism, according to the charity’s website.
On-the-ground help
The Tzu Chi volunteers in Spokane, who came from Seattle, Portland and Northern California, have helped fire victims apply for aid, have given away blankets and have offered $600 to $1,200 emergency financial assistance per residence, Wan said. To qualify, recipients must have lost their home or have had significant damage to it.
Wan said Tzu Chi handed out about $250,000 in emergency assistance, helping more than 300 households.
Charles Hillyard, one of the handful of “care recipients” who lost everything including his car and home, said in a video produced by Tzu Chi USA 360 that after receiving the Tzu Chi emergency cash card, he was more optimistic about the future.
“It gives me hope,” he said after receiving Tzu Chi’s emergency financial assistance in the form of a debit card. “It makes me see the good in people. There’s so many people that are willing to help.”
Tzu Chi operates on donations, not government grants, and the Seattle branch has raised part of the funds that have helped wildfire victims since they heard of the first spark in Spokane, Wan said. One way they’ve done that is by selling Taiwanese cuisine from their office parking lot for several weekends.
Alleviating suffering
The Spokane Buddhist Temple is another Buddhist community assisting fire victims, and they are driven by the desire to relieve suffering, which is anchored in the Jodo Shinshu tradition, heavily represented in Japan.
“We consider other people’s suffering as our own, and other people’s well-being as our own. If one or more are suffering, we’re all suffering,” said Celeste Sterrett, a 25-year member of Spokane’s temple and the former chair of the Social Welfare Committee of the Buddhist Churches of America (BCA) — which her temple belongs to.
Instead of the on-the-ground support emphasized by Tzu Chi, the Spokane Buddhist Temple acted more like a conduit to give the funding where it can aid an organization that is already set up, Sterrett said.
On behalf of the Spokane Buddhist Temple members, Sterrett took on the task of applying for a grant from BCA’s welfare committee. She said the process was a simple two-page application where members request funds, which, if awarded, will then be given to a nonprofit that the member requested it for.
A channel for long-term recovery
Sterrett applied for a $25,000 grant to give to the Innovia Foundation Spokane Complex Wildfire Fund, but was awarded one for $20,000 due to the BCA needing to send relief to other parts of the world.
The grant money has yet to be delivered to Innovia, Sterrett said, but the hope is that a majority of the funds will help long-term recovery for the wildfire victims. Innovia partners with local nonprofits including the Spokane Regional Long Term Recovery Group, Spokane Public Schools and Second Harvest. According to Innovia’s website, 100% of donations will go to their partners.
Sterrett explained the grant money comes from donations that range from $25 to $10,000, and they are given by BCA members and friends across the U.S., not through membership dues.
“We’re just so happy that we are able to help in that way, and [we] hope we can alleviate some of their pain,” Sterrett said.
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