Dharma Master Cheng Yen Receives 2011 FDR Distinguished Public Service Award Tuesday, 11 October 2011 09:17 ¢x Tzu Chi Foundation

 

Dharma Master Cheng Yen (right) Receives 2011 FDR Distinguished Public Service Award from Anna E. Roosevelt (left)

The Award Ceremony was held in the Jing Si Hall, Hualien. Roosevelt Institute is located in New York; Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, who is also granddaughter of President Roosevelt, Andrew Rich, President and CEO, and David Hsu, member of board director, traveled thousands miles to present this award.

In the beginning of Ms. Roosevelt's speech, she mentioned: "Leadership that not only inspired hope, but was born of hope; leadership based on the belief as Franklin Roosevelt believed that devotion to the public good, unselfish service, never ending consideration of human need are in themselves conquering forces." Those values and belief that based on Franklin Roosevelt same as Master Cheng Yen believed.

Ms. Roosevelt praised that Master Cheng Yen lead Tzu Chi volunteers around the world overcome obstacles of distance, politics, and culture;Tzu Chi has established a remarkable record of achievement: building hospitals for the sick; homes for the homeless, and bringing hope and relief to hundreds of thousands in the wake of the 2004 and 2011 tsunamis in Indonesia and Japan; after the devastation of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans; and in the terrible hours and days following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

Dharma Master Cheng Yen received the award herself. She thanked the Roosevelt Institute on recognized Tzu Chi Foundation. In the letter of acceptance, she mentioned that tens of thousands of Tzu Chi volunteers humbly and silently work for environmental protection in their communities; they are the ones who deserve the most outstanding public service award. Tzu Chi members are not afraid of difficulties; they enter calamity areas to give relief and to comfort the victims, while our medical doctors provide free clinics and free medicines not only to alleviate the sufferings of the patients, but also to comfort them psychologically. They are the paradigm of human conscience and they deserve the most distinguished public service award.

The Roosevelt Institute was founded in 1987.The FDR Distinguished Public Service Award is an award for those who demonstrate a lifetime commitment to outstanding public service and celebrates national leaders from all areas of civil society. It was first presented in 2008; this annual award recognizes outstanding public service, including the political leaders or leaders in humanitarian relief. It praises the value of their great contribution to the well-being of humanity.

Tzu Chi Foundation has dedicated itself to these simple yet profound principles. Thanks to its adherence to these ideas, and to the compassionate vision of its founder, Dharma Master Cheng Yen, millions of people all over the world have been able to embrace the hope and promise of a better life.