Tzu Chi Honors Greater New York Red Cross

by Stan Frank, American Red Cross

Mr. George Chang, CEO and Executive Director for the Northeast Region of Tzu Chi, presented the award to Uikki-Onosai O’Bryant, Red Cross Disaster Program Manager, Manhattan.

On April 24, the Greater New York Red Cross Chapter was honored with a plaque presented by Mr. George Chang, CEO and Executive Director of the Northeast Region of Tzu Chi, to Uikki-Onosai O’Bryant, Disaster Program Manager, Manhattan. The plaque was in appreciation for our community efforts with the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign in which Red Cross and Tzu Chi volunteers installed more than 1,066 smoke/carbon monoxide alarms in 400 homes and apartments in Flushing, Queens during the past year.

Upon presentation of the plaque Mr. Chang said, “We are honored for the opportunity to have worked in collaboration with you and look forward to further developing our partnership to benefit our communities”.

The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, which is one of our most active partners in New York City, is a nonprofit, non-governmental humanitarian organization that operates out of nine regional areas in the United States. Founded in Taiwan in 1966, Tzu Chi has more than 10 million volunteers in more than 50 countries, and more than 100,000 volunteers in the U.S. The Tzu Chi Northeast Region’s Flushing Office recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. The American Red Cross worked closely with Tzu Chi in the wake of 9/11, on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and following Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

“We couldn’t ask for more in a partner,” said Uikki-Onosai. “Tzu Chi is not as well known in the U.S. as the Red Cross, but they are well known and highly respected worldwide as one of the world’s top humanitarian organizations. After 9/11 the Blue Angels, as their volunteers are called, were invaluable in helping us provide emergency services to disaster victims in New York City. They were great to work with installing smoke alarms in the Queens campaign. We are very fortunate to have them as partners.”

The plaque was presented in April at Flushing High School.

Congratulations to Tzu Chi on their 25th Anniversary in New York! We look forward to many more years of working together to prevent disasters and provide relief and compassion wherever and whenever it is needed.