Buddhist Group's Flood Aid Brings Tears and Praise

July 3, 2008

Author: Molly Rossiter

Source: The Gazette

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080703/NEWS/359586786/1006/news

Eleven-year-old Brittany Gatewood helped her school raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tornado that leveled part of Parkersburg.

On Thursday, she said, volunteers at the Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation told her that "what goes around comes around."

Gatewood's extended family was one of 300 families among the first to receive debit cards from the Buddhist organization Thursday at its temporary service center at Westdale Mall. The family — seven members of three generations — received $800, the most the organization is giving displaced families.

The foundation is in Cedar Rapids this weekend handing out debit cards to flood victims in the city whose homes were labeled with yellow, red or purple placards. Organizers said they will hand out an estimated $2 million in debit cards by Sunday afternoon.