Text and photo by Li Ming-mu
Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting
Volunteers have launched a Loving Store campaign, striking a chord with people’s natural inclination to help others.
In June 2022, Tzu Chi volunteers in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, launched the Loving Store campaign, actively reaching out to shops and businesses and encouraging them to place coin banks in their establishments. These coin banks serve as a platform for store owners or customers to contribute spare change to be used for charitable purposes. Once the coin banks are filled, volunteers are notified to collect the donations. Close to 300 stores participated in the first month alone. Over the past year, the number of participating stores has grown to more than 1,100.
I am a volunteer in Taoyuan and help promote the campaign. I distinctly remember that before we started, I heard Dharma Master Cheng Yen speak about the prevalence of negative actions in the world. Her comments left me feeling unsettled and disheartened. I couldn’t help but wonder: “If what the Master said is true, then it seems like we’re running out of time….” But her words were also a call to action and reinforced the urgency for us to intensify our efforts to propagate kindness and positivity in the world.
One day, I arrived at a store for the campaign. Before going in, I caught sight of an employee sweeping the floor. She wore a very solemn expression. Immediately, doubts started to cloud my mind. “If I go in now, she will surely refuse.” I hesitated, unsure of what to do next.
In the next moment, I urged myself not to let any self-imposed limitations hinder my actions. With determination, I entered the store and confidently spoke the first phrase that I always used whenever I approached a business to invite them to join the campaign: “Hello, I’m a Tzu Chi volunteer, and we’re promoting our Loving Store campaign. Would it be possible to have a coin bank placed here? It presents an opportunity for everyone to contribute their love to those in need by simply donating their spare change.”
The woman, in her 50s, instantly displayed a friendly demeanor. “Oh, alright,” she said. She graciously allowed me to position the coin bank in a prominent spot near the cash register. As our conversation unfolded, I discovered that she had been a donating member of Tzu Chi in her younger years. My eyes widened in surprise. Seizing the opportunity, I invited her to rejoin Tzu Chi. “Sure, why not?” she promptly agreed. And just like that, we welcomed back a member from 30 years before, adding another force of goodness to Tzu Chi.
There was also a steamed bun shop whose owner had temporarily halted donations to Tzu Chi after relocating his shop. However, upon joining the Loving Store campaign this time, he re-enrolled his wife and son as Tzu Chi donating members.
A breakfast shop owner initially had concerns about the campaign, fearing the possibility of being deceived. After depositing ten Taiwanese dollars (US$0.33) in a coin bank, she told volunteer Zheng Wen-zhang (鄭文章), who had visited her shop to encourage her to join, that she no longer wished to participate. A few days later, Zheng revisited the shop to deliver the receipt for the ten-dollar donation. The owner’s delight upon seeing the receipt sparked a change of heart, and she decided to join the campaign after all. Zheng said, “In reality, everyone has a kind heart.” He further elucidated the campaign’s essence: “Although individual contributions may be small, what truly matters is the accumulation of everyone’s good intentions.”
In November last year, Zheng Wen-zhang (right) made his third visit to the coffee shop owned by his daughter and son-in-law to collect a coin bank filled with spare change. The couple were the first shop owners to join the Loving Store campaign.
At the start of the Loving Store recruitment, volunteer Chen Shu-hua (陳淑華) was recovering from surgery and was unable to drive. However, she could still walk, so she enlisted three other volunteers to accompany her in approaching shops for the campaign. They started with a breakfast shop located at an alley entrance. Upon reaching the shop, she said to the owner, “Please consider placing the coin bank in your store, allowing customers to contribute spare change to support the underserved. This act will enable them to cultivate blessings, as doing good deeds for others is a way to bless oneself as well as others.” The shop owner was delighted by the proposition and agreed to join. Six or seven out of every ten shops they visited decided to join.
Zhang Yue-li (張月里), another volunteer for the campaign, rode her motor scooter to seek out shop owners she was acquainted with for recruitment. As time went on, she extended her efforts to unfamiliar ones as well. Witnessing the warm reception she received from everyone, she felt joyful, saying, “Performing acts of kindness is not solely my aspiration; it turns out that many others share the same desire.” Clothing store owner You Yu-min (游玉閔) echoed this sentiment, remarking, “Although depositing spare change in a coin bank may seem a simple action, it has the power to ignite a sense of warmth in those who receive help. When customers express their willingness to donate, I always respond with a smile.”
Volunteer Zheng Wen-zhang said that many young people who run their own businesses gladly embraced the idea of doing good together and joined the campaign. “As long as we are willing to reach out and extend invitations,” he remarked, “it is not as difficult as we might have initially thought.”
Chen Jing (陳靜), a young volunteer responsible for the graphic design of this campaign, often sees shops on the street with Loving Store stickers on display or that have coin banks placed on their counters. “I deeply appreciate the dedication of our volunteers,” she said. “It’s all thanks to their efforts that over a thousand stores have come together in this endeavor.”
On December 19, 2022, when the Taoyuan Loving Store team met with Dharma Master Cheng Yen, the Master mentioned that when shop owners allow us to place coin banks, it creates good affinities and gives us an opportunity to highlight the inherent goodness in people. It also allows us to share the humble origins of our foundation, about how Tzu Chi started with 30 housewives each saving a little of their grocery money in bamboo coin banks every day to help the needy. By understanding the profound impact of small acts of kindness when combined, others might also be inspired to become a force for good.
The volunteers who have visited stores to recruit participants for the campaign have experienced both moments of joy and setbacks. However, they quickly tell themselves not to be discouraged and that there are still many compassionate people waiting for them to extend an invitation. They recruit wherever they go, aiming to spread love and goodwill as extensively as possible. They envision that every Loving Store will become a gathering place for goodness.
