Tzu Chi Education Foundation

In March of 2020, when multiple states established shelter-in-place procedures to safeguard communities during the spread of COVID-19, many presumed the pandemic would only last a few months at most. Yet, more than a year has passed, and the pandemic is still ongoing. During this time of great uncertainty, people’s lives and routines have faced myriad transformations. This also included the youngest members of the community, as schools closed and quickly shifted to facilitate remote learning. In February, however, the CDC announced that students from pre-K to K-12 would be allowed to return to school for in-person learning, provided careful guidelines could be upheld.

As the COVID-19 vaccination rate increased in the United States, many states began to ease restrictions affecting schools. In response, Tzu Chi Education Foundation’s character education team contacted Juanita Blakely Jones Elementary School in San Bernardino, California, about coming back to the school to provide in-person character education.

Founded by the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation in 2015, El Menahil International School serves Syrian families displaced by violence and conflict by providing education and support for children, adults, and their families. Designed to boost awareness and build upon the concepts of great love without limits, the Tzu Chi Character Education team established an “Anti-bullying in Schools” program to help students and teachers spot the signs of bullying. Also taught in the U.S., this program was carried out via a 30-minute group class. The one-week course took place from February 28 to March 4, 2022.

In late February 2024, students from Shelyn Elementary School found themselves at the Tzu Chi Walnut Campus Life Science Garden for a memorable ecological tour of the farm’s varied vegetation that both educated and inspired them in environmental protection.

Tzu Chi Great Love Preschools in California teach children compassion and good intentions through a toy donation drive for underprivileged children held in collaboration with the local fire department.

After a two-year pandemic pause, Tzu Chi Education Foundation was elated to be able to host their one-day camp centered around environmental protection. Students, teachers, and parents from Ekstrand Elementary learned how to “reduce, reuse, recycle” through immersive activities.