2023 Great Love 30

3 It encourages everyone to give, to awaken kindness every day, and to know that giving is not a privilege of the wealthy. When selfless love blossoms into action, and everyone embraces the call to do good with willing hearts, a vast humanitarian mission unfolds, rewriting the narratives of countless lives. From 50 Cents, a Charity Began In 1966, inspired by Master Cheng Yen, 30 homemakers began a daily practice of depositing NT 50 cents of their grocery money into a bamboo bank to help the needy. As words spread in the market that “even NT 50 cents can save lives”, many were inspired to join the good cause. Their collective small donations grew into a powerful force of compassion. This was how the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation started in Hualien, the most impoverished and backward province on the east coast of Taiwan then. The Bamboo Bank Culture