(Los Angeles News) The Pasadena Buddhist Temple and St. Gregory's Chapel, adhering to the compassionate and altruistic teachings of the Third Buddha, Dorje Chang, are conducting a donation event titled "Join Hands for Good Deeds, Warm Hearts," continuously providing care and assistance to the community.
The monks and volunteers from the Pasadena Buddhist Temple and St. Gregory's Chapel delivered charitable items to the Pasadena Humane Society.
Due to the rampant wildfires in California, the location of the Pasadena Buddhist Temple and St. Gregory's Chapel is within the affected area of the Eaton Fire. Once the safety of the temple's monks was assured, they promptly called upon various sectors to initiate a material donation drive, immediately engaging in community care. During January, the temple took the lead in donating food and general living supplies in multiple batches to fire evacuation centers and resource hubs; they also donated animal food and supplies to animal shelters, providing immediate assistance to those affected by the recent California wildfires and non-profit rescue organizations.
The monks and volunteers from the Pasadena Buddhist Temple and St. Gregory's Chapel delivered charitable items to the White Memorial Church.
During the donation event, kind-hearted individuals and local residents enthusiastically responded, actively donating various essential goods, resulting in a total of hundreds of boxes of donated materials. This included food items such as pasta, breakfast cereals, peanut butter, ready-to-eat salad packs, instant rice, baby food, protein shakes, totaling 2,700 items. General supplies included toothpaste, toothbrushes, laundry detergent, lotion, diapers, pillows, totaling 9,531 items. Additionally, there were 4,264 items of packaged and canned animal food. Animal supplies included cages, toys, blankets, towels, scratching posts, pet beds, dog collars, totaling 14,842 items, filling five entire shelves of goods. The temple carefully categorized the assistance materials according to the needs of different recipient organizations to ensure maximum effectiveness.
On February 20, the monks and volunteers from the Pasadena Buddhist Temple and St. Gregory's Chapel delivered five shelves of charitable items to the Pasadena Humane Society and the White Memorial Church. The recipient organizations expressed their gratitude to the Pasadena Buddhist Temple and St. Gregory's Chapel, acknowledging the temple's commitment to charitable efforts. Ashton Hardin-Artiga, a representative of the White Memorial Church, stated, "In the current situation of rising prices and frequent natural disasters, many families are in distress, and receiving such help is undoubtedly a tremendous support for us."
The day happened to be Ashton’s birthday, and the temple bought a small cake to celebrate.
Kim Burbank, the manager of the charitable department at the Pasadena Humane Society, thanked the Pasadena Buddhist Temple for initiating the charitable donations. She stated that since the outbreak of the wildfire on January 7, the animal shelter has housed over 1,200 animals and successfully reunited nearly 2,000 animals with their families. All areas affected by the Eaton Fire have received help from our community and everyone. Thank you again for your donations, which help us rescue those animals who cannot save themselves in this disaster.
This donation event not only showcases the great love of Buddhists but also brings hope and positive energy to the local community. The temple stated that it will continue to promote charitable care and welcomes more kind-hearted individuals to participate together, providing more long-term and stable assistance to those in need, filling society with warmth and harmony.