The Zen Prison Project has brought volunteers into the Travis State Jail, Travis County Correction Facility and Lockhart prison, where we teach serveral classes in meditation and Buddhism every week. This project started at AZC but has expanded to include members of sister Austin sanghas, particularly Plum Blossom Sangha. We also arrange mail correspondence with prisoners who have expressed an interest in Buddhism, and arrange for them to receive books. For more information on this project click here.
Please contact the outreach coordinator if you are interested in participating in one of these programs.
Given the level of activity and fast growth of AZC we also have a constant need for volunteers to help inhouse at AZC, cleaning, preparing for events, processing books for the library, gardening and maintaining our buildings, as well as serving various zendo roles.
Donations can be made directly to Austin Zen Center and earmarked for Outreach or for a particular outreach program. Please attach a note to any donations to indicate for which program the funds should be spent.
For most practice and educational programs at AZC a substantial amount, often all, of the cost of the program is recovered through fees. Many of our outreach programs, in contrast, benefit or make direct material or financial contributions to needy people, with little opportunity for recovering costs. Therefore many of these programs merit special consideration from donors and benefactors. Some of these programs, such as the prison program, and their benefits are in a position to grow in direct proportion to donations received, as money rather than volunteer support is the limiting factor. Please consider sponsoring one of these programs if you are in a position to do so.
When outreach services are contracted as part of another budgeted event, then AZC will generally set a fee for these services. For wedding ceremonies, for instance, we typically request 10% of the entire budget for the event.
