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This year in Canada, the weather has been a stark contrast to the warm winters of previous years. Since last November, snowstorms have arrived one after another. A blizzard just a week ago forced schools to close for a day, and before that accumulated snow could melt, a new “Polar Vortex” was already closing in.
On January 23, 2026, Tzu Chi’s annual winter distribution at “Street Health” coincided with the coldest day since the beginning of winter. Even though the sun was shining brightly, the temperature plummeted to below minus twenty degrees Celsius. Yet, amidst the severe morning cold, Tzu Chi volunteers set out from their warm homes to gather together. Their only goal was to deliver a hot meal and care to homeless individuals, offering them the most genuine compassion.
Collaboration: Preparations of Love Started Early
More than half a month prior, volunteers began methodically preparing for this distribution. The purchased supplies included not only ingredients for the hot meals but also winter gear, Tzu Chi’s signature eco-friendly blankets, and toiletries, totaling two hundred sets.
On Sunday, January 11, forty-six volunteers dedicated themselves to packing the supplies. Middle-aged volunteers handled the overall planning, the younger generation took on the execution tasks, and senior volunteers provided support and companionship from the sidelines. This demonstrated a beautiful model of cooperation described as “Youth and seniors doing good together,” which is exactly the direction Tzu Chi Eastern Canada is striving to develop for the future.
The day also incorporated parent-child activities, with many second-generation Tzu Chi members bringing the third generation along to participate, allowing seeds of love and kindness to be passed down naturally through action.
With hot food in hand and respect in their hearts, they brought warmth to the cold winter. Keeping 150 meals—cooked early in the morning—hot and fragrant until noon in such extreme weather was a significant challenge for the Toronto team. Volunteers raced against time, skillfully cooking rice, mixing in colorful vegetables, frying spring rolls, brewing coffee, packing boxes, and transporting them.
When the meal boxes were opened at the Street Health center more than ten kilometers away, a rich aroma filled the air, seemingly injecting a warm current into the freezing atmosphere and fulfilling the heartfelt anticipation of those receiving the meals.
This year, a hot coffee station was specially added. Volunteers proactively asked the recipients if they needed milk or sugar, quickly adjusting the amounts to their liking and serving them with both hands. One homeless man humorously praised, “Perfect Service!”
For those with limited mobility, volunteers thoughtfully carried trays and guided them to their seats to eat.
As they served, volunteers also observed how people received the food, then promptly discussed what could be adjusted in the future—hoping, with the attentive care of “a thousand hands and a thousand eyes,” to provide the most complete support.
Walking into Suffering: Warmth Visible Amidst the Cold
The distribution venue was a century-old church with high ceilings and almost no perceptible heating. To ensure ventilation, large ceiling fans continued to spin. Despite this, to better serve guests, volunteers consciously removed their heavy coats.
The volunteers understood that they were only briefly experiencing the cold, while people without shelter endure the biting low temperatures for long periods; this church was already a refuge from wind, snow, and sleet. For that reason, a heart full of compassion was enough to forget numb, freezing bodies—and the sincere smiles that naturally appeared became the warmest “little heaters” in people’s hearts.
Another flow of movement was for picking up winter supplies. When someone received a heavy supply bag presented by volunteers who bent slightly and offered it with both hands, that sense of happiness and security was beyond words.
Continuing last year’s arrangement, this year’s winter distribution also featured a Tzu Chi Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) free clinic. The leading physician from the Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA), Dr. Zhong-Yan Chen, shared with emotion: Most patients do not think much of ear-seed acupressure for health; after washing hair or bathing for a few days, the patches often fall off. But people experiencing homelessness carefully maintain them—when they returned for follow-up last year, the patches were still firmly in place on their ears even after twenty days.
Precisely because medical resources are scarce, people experiencing homelessness better understand how to cherish such rare opportunities for free care. This also validates Master Cheng Yen’s teaching: “Those who suffer cannot get out; those who are blessed must go in.” This helped volunteers feel their responsibility more deeply and strengthened their determination to continue offering free clinics.
Gratitude for the Encounter: Letting Love Flow Both Ways
After the event, Ms. Cathy, the manager of Street Health, choked up as she expressed that this community has the highest concentration of people experiencing homelessness in Ontario, and the situation is also the most complex. Every time she sees how thoughtful Tzu Chi volunteers are—thinking of people in every detail—she feels deeply grateful.
Yet Tzu Chi volunteers are just as grateful—grateful to people experiencing homelessness for giving them a chance to “see suffering and know blessings.” A small cart holding all one’s possessions, hands reddened by cold, hair disheveled by wind, shoes that do not fit… every scene makes the heart tremble.
Even though some among them are struggling with drug addiction, when Tzu Chi volunteers meet them, in that moment, they are simply people who need help. Through unconditional love and care, they hope that those pushed to the margins of life can again feel human warmth—then grasp the helping hand extended to them and move toward a healthier life.
“One candy, full of dignity and love.” During the event, one person experiencing homelessness became emotional and loudly praised the volunteers, saying they also wanted to share something. When volunteers politely declined gifts, they looked quite disappointed and then tried to give a bag of candy to other volunteers. To avoid hurting their feelings, a volunteer ultimately accepted a single piece of chocolate from that small bag.
That seemingly insignificant candy was, in fact, the purest and most sincere return of love.
Near the end of the event, another homeless individual pointed to the portrait of Master Cheng Yen and asked, “Who is this?” A volunteer seized the opportunity to explain the origins of Tzu Chi. She nodded repeatedly and said gratefully, “Thank you! I want to learn more and get to know more about the Master when I go back.”
From being in need to becoming someone who can give, life’s sense of happiness comes from being needed and from realizing one’s self-worth. Even if it is just a fleeting sense of happiness, bringing warmth to people experiencing homelessness is what drives Tzu Chi volunteers to keep giving.
Even more heartening is that some staff members at Street Health were once homeless themselves. They have personally experienced the happiness of rising from hardship, becoming self-reliant, and living with dignity.
Jing Si Aphorism: Do not underestimate yourself; people have infinite potential. People once burdened by hardship on the streets can also become confident social workers.
