The Parliament of the World’s Religions is very happy to announce the Members of the Circle of Patrons for 2024.
The Circle of Patrons is a group of generous supporters and interfaith leaders who wish to help ensure the strength and sustainability of the Parliament’s vision of interfaith understanding and partnership working to bring into being a world of peace, justice and care for the Earth.
We offer our deepest gratitude and appreciation to these greatly valued Patrons for their important support. These are the 2024 Members of the Circle of Patrons:
The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation: Founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen
The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation: Founded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen is a worldwide humanitarian and educational organization established in 1966 by Dharma Master Cheng Yen, a Taiwanese Buddhist nun. Tzu Chi volunteers endeavor to promote the universal value of “Great Love,” reverently accepting the Buddha’s teaching of “expressing great kindness to all sentient beings, and taking their suffering as our own”; manifesting kindness, compassion, joy and selflessness through concrete actions. In its “Four Major Missions” of Charity, Medicine, Education and Humanity, Tzu Chi carries forward large-scale programs of aid globally to the poor, health care, bone marrow donation, education at all levels, international relief and environmental protection. In addition to international medical programs during the COVID pandemic, Tzu Chi currently is extensively involved in aid in India and Nepal, the Buddha’s birthplace, and ongoing support for refugees from conflict areas and those affected by extreme weather events.
Blouke Carus and the Hegeler Carus Foundation
Blouke Carus is a distinguished chemist who revolutionized the production of the vital environmental chemical, potassium permanganate. After graduating from Cal Tech and the University of Freiburg, he transformed production techniques at Carus Chemical in La Salle, Illinois. At this time he began a lifelong preoccupation with teaching, literacy, and books for both children and adults. In 1961, with his wife Marianne, he launched the Open Court Integrated Language Arts Program to improve children’s reading comprehension; the program is now part of McGraw Hill. Blouke also helped develop the International Baccalaureate (IB) programs in the U.S. His company Carus Books carries on the legacy of Open Court Publishing, established in 1887, where Blouke’s grandfather, the scholar and visionary Paul Carus, was the first editor and also helped organize the 1893 World Parliament of Religions. At its Convenings the Parliament gives the Paul Carus Award to one or more recipients for “exemplary and visionary efforts in the promotion of interreligious harmony and cooperation.”
The Charter for Compassion
The Charter for Compassion is a declaration to restore compassion and the Golden Rule to the center of our moral and religious traditions. In 2008 acclaimed scholar and bestselling author Karen Armstrong received the TED Prize and made a wish—to help create, launch, and propagate a Charter for Compassion. After much work and the contribution of thousands of people, the Charter was launched at the United Nations in 2009. The Council of Conscience helped to formulate the Charter for Compassion document. The Charter for Compassion provides an umbrella for people to engage in collaborative partnerships worldwide. Its vision is “A transformed world where all life flourishes with compassion.” Its mission is to bring to life the principles articulated in the Charter for Compassion through concrete, practical action in many different sectors by connecting, cultivating, and encouraging networks of compassionate action. Millions of people have affirmed the Charter and the movement has attracted followers worldwide. Over 440 cities and communities in 54 countries, are developing and promoting compassionate initiatives.
The Circle of Friends for VRG Vision
The Circle of Friends for VRG Vision is a group of Jains inspired by the vision of Virchand Raghav Gandhi (VRG), who represented Jainism at the historic World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 and brought Jainism into a dialogue with other faiths which has continued ever since. Through VRG and his legacy, Jainism has inspired leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and many others with the modern relevance of the Jain values of Nonviolence (Ahiṃsā), Non-possessiveness (Aparigraha) and Non-Absolutism (Anekāntavāda) – all key tenets for a peaceful, just, sustainable and loving world. Jains are proud to carry forward the torch lit by VRG and to develop programs and initiatives that will spread in the world the message of the Tīrthaṅkaras or “Makers of the Crossing”, including Mahāvīr, the 24th in the ancient Jain lineage of great enlightened beings.
The Wayfarer Foundation
The Wayfarer Foundation is a Bahá-i-inspired organization which funds and supports spiritually rooted and justice-oriented nonprofits. Launched by Steve Sarowitz in 2021 with the mission to “advance humankind spiritually towards a future peaceful world civilization,” it centers its work on the power of universal participation to create a more hopeful, joyful and just world. The Wayfarer Foundation partners with three sister organizations: Wayfarer Studios, which creates purpose-driven, multi-platform film and television productions that elevate and speak to the human spirit by producing stories that serve as true agents for social change; BeLove.org, a nonprofit organization that supports charitable programs inspired by Wayfarer Studios’ content, and also the Julian Grace Foundation, an entrepreneurial private foundation that does high-engagement grant making in order to create a just, unified and hopeful world. JGF is also funded by the Sarowitz family.
In the coming months, additional Members may join the Circle of Patrons for 2024.
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