Tzu Chi UK is part of the worldwide Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. Our volunteers practise “compassion in action”: relief that arrives in person, is given with both hands, and stays until it is no longer needed. We serve everyone, of every faith and none.
Four missions, funded by donations and by the charity lottery.
When flooding, fire or another emergency displaces a household, Tzu Chi volunteers aim to be there within days — with hot vegetarian meals, blankets, emergency cash relief handed over in person, and someone who returns the following week to ask what is still missing. Internationally, we join the global Tzu Chi network's responses to major disasters, so a gift made in the UK can reach an earthquake zone on the other side of the world through volunteers already on the ground.
Our medical mission supports community health outreach, helps patients facing hardship with the practical costs that surround illness, and supplies equipment to services under pressure. Volunteers with clinical backgrounds give their time at health events, and the foundation's international medical association links UK professionals with relief missions overseas.
We provide bursaries for students whose families are in financial difficulty, partner with schools on character and humanistic culture education — tea ceremony, sign language, community service — and run youth volunteering so young people learn that kindness is a skill that improves with practice.
Care for the planet is care for the people who live on it. Volunteers run recycling projects, promote plant-based eating through community kitchens, and lead practical workshops on reducing waste — quiet, local climate action that anyone can join.
The charity is governed by a board of trustees who are responsible for its strategy, finances and compliance, supported by a small staff team and a much larger family of volunteers. Trustees serve without pay and are named in our annual report: Chien Lung Chu (Chair), Mei Huei Lin, Peter Liu and Yizhen Peng.
We are committed to safeguarding everyone who comes into contact with our work. Volunteers who work with children or adults at risk are trained and checked, and concerns can always be raised in confidence with the safeguarding lead via donation@tzuchi.uk.
The charity lottery is overseen by the trustees, run day-to-day by a designated responsible person, Chien Lung Chu, and operated under the registration described on the online lottery page.
Our entry appears on the Charity Commission register under number 1050821, and we are registered with the Fundraising Regulator, following the Code of Fundraising Practice.