Tag Archives: World Humanitarian Day

Pillars of the L.A. Latin Community Honored at World Humanitarian Day Celebration on L. Ron Hubbard Way

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- The Church of Scientology Los Angeles hosted a World Humanitarian Day celebration and awards ceremony to honor men and women whose work empowers the county's Latinx community.

Some 200 languages are spoken in Los Angeles County, and more than a third of county residents were born outside the United States. But while Hispanic or Latinx families and individuals comprise nearly 47 percent of the population, making this the largest ethnic group in the county, the community suffers disproportionate economic and social challenges, including lower income, higher unemployment, less education, and fewer advancement opportunities.

The men and women honored at the World Humanitarian Day ceremony are working to level the playing field and have dedicated their lives to helping the Latin community.

* Walter Batres migrated to America from Guatemala at 18 in the midst of his country's repressive civil war. He formed the Guatemalan Migrant Network (RMG) to provide support and guidance for the repatriation to Guatemala of migrants who have died in the U.S. or en route to the country, and expanded the nonprofit's services to promote education, cultural pride, sports and humanitarian activities. His organization provides food, water and medical supplies to Guatemalans seeking refuge in the U.S. RMG members are compassionate individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, including business owners, artisans and professionals in many fields and trades, working together to improve the lot of the migrant community.

* Minister Emmanuel Balderas and his team of volunteers have provided food for thousands of orphans and low-income families in Veracruz, Mexico. They raise funds for scholarships and school materials for children in rural areas, donate wheelchairs to the elderly and have provided more than 400,000 toys to Veracruz children. He is known for his compassion and his spiritual and emotional counseling to uplift members of the L.A. migrant community.

* Martin Cruz, president of the Chicano Latino Immigrant Democratic Club of Southern California, uplifts Latin American communities by spearheading the formation of cultural groups and events to unite, empower, and foster pride in the heritage of Latin Americans in Southern California.

* Justina and Jose Islas, president and vice president of the nonprofit Unidos Por Una Misma Causa (United for the Same Cause), provide counseling and help for those suffering from domestic violence and drug abuse, and they educate the community on drug prevention and human rights.

* Montebello Rotary Club President for 2023-2024 Edward Franco and his team were recognized for their initiatives to educate underserved children.

* Mr. Alberto Godinez, TV and radio personality, was awarded for his work to save victims of human trafficking. Godinez is also a major player in providing comprehensive information on drug prevention to rehabilitation centers.

The Church of Scientology Los Angeles is an Ideal Scientology Organization, configured to service Scientologists in their ascent to spiritual freedom and serve as a home for the entire community-a meeting ground of cooperative effort to uplift people of all denominations. It was dedicated by Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige in 2010.

The Church of Scientology Los Angeles is featured in an episode of Inside Scientology on the Scientology Network, available on DIRECTV channel 320 and streaming at Scientology.tv, through mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.

LEARN MORE:

https://www.scientology-losangeles.org/

https://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/

VIDEO:

https://youtu.be/B0xMnowNCYo?si=iA7P9xKy1EkMOawa

The Church of Scientology Los Angeles hosted a World Humanitarian Day celebration and awards ceremony to honor men and women whose work empowers the county's Latinx community. Some 200 languages are spoken in Los Angeles County, and more than a third of county residents were born outside the United States.

Related link: https://www.scientology.org/

Volunteers Honored at the Los Angeles Church of Scientology Annual Awards Banquet

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- Each year, the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles holds an awards ceremony and banquet for World Humanitarian Day to honor local Volunteer Ministers and the volunteers of other Los Angeles nonprofits deserving of recognition. The Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard to provide help whenever and wherever needed.

World Humanitarian Day is set aside by the UN as "a global celebration of people helping people" recognizing them for delivering aid despite the challenges and their commitment to serve #NoMatterWhat.

Among those represented at this year's ceremony were volunteers of nonprofits that partner with the Church of Scientology in its many outreach and community betterment programs, including Tlaxcaltecas USA, the Central American and Guatemalan Migrant Network, Fundacion Un Pedacito de Cielo, MIRO Women's Support Group, New Challenge Ministries, El Salvador Foundation, Unidos Por Una Misma Causa, Conceptos Productos Naturales, and the Helping Hands Society of Los Angeles.

The Church of Scientology Los Angeles partners with these nonprofits to provide weekly food drives to L.A. families experiencing food insecurity and to hold cultural festivals and outreach activities that address pressing social issues affecting Los Angeles families.

In an episode of Inside Scientology on the Scientology Network, one volunteer says "I feel like our purpose as Scientologists is to better the lives of people around us." "The whole point of these social betterment campaigns and groups is to create a better Los Angeles," says another.

Easily recognized by their bright yellow shirts and their can-do spirit, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers who were recognized at the World Humanitarian Day ceremony were on call this week. Meteorologists predicted "life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding" for Los Angeles. Fortunately, the storm passed over the region with minimal damage, but with September and October the most vulnerable months for wildfires, local Volunteer Ministers remain ready to respond at a moment's notice.

The work of the Volunteer Ministers is described in the Inside Scientology episode by a member of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "The firefighters came back and quickly recognized that the best place to get the type of support needed was the folks wearing the yellow shirts," he says. And it wasn't just the supplies that they appreciated. It was their "generosity and kindness."

But these Los Angeles-based Volunteer Ministers don't simply serve the greater Los Angeles area. "They go anywhere in the world, whether it is far or near," according to a Church executive interviewed in the episode. "They go and help people put their lives back together." "Making a difference in the world is what it's all about," says another staff member.

Originally founded in 1954, the newly configured headquarters of the Church of Scientology Los Angeles was dedicated by Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige in 2010 as an Ideal Scientology Church, serving Scientologists in their ascent to spiritual freedom and as a home for the entire community - a meeting ground of cooperative effort to uplift people of all denominations.

For more information, watch Inside a Church of Scientology on the Scientology Network or visit the website of the Church of Scientology Los Angeles.

LEARN MORE:

https://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/

https://www.scientology.tv/series/inside-scientology/inside-a-church.html

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https://www.scientology.tv/series/inside-scientology/inside-a-church.html

Each year, the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles holds an awards ceremony and banquet for World Humanitarian Day to honor local Volunteer Ministers and the volunteers of other Los Angeles nonprofits deserving of recognition. The Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard to provide help whenever and wherever needed.

Related link: https://www.scientology.org/

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Honored for Their Unconditional Help

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- In today's hectic world of smartphones and social media, people can become more focused on their screens than on the world around them. But, there are those whose work and commitment prove that human connection and kindness are not a thing of the past. These are the individuals honored on World Humanitarian Day. They provide help at home and abroad - wherever the need arises. And among them are the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, a religious social service sponsored by the Church of Scientology International. Volunteer Ministers respond to disasters great and small. And their watchword is "help."

"Sometimes you just need someone to talk to," said a woman in Eugowra, Australia, a community devastated last year by one of the worst floods in eastern Australia's history. "Someone to just say, 'what do you want us to do now?' You just need a human touch. And having people like the Volunteer Ministers is almost like having the emergency services come to save you. They saw something that needed doing and did something about it."

"You brought physical labor and honestly, I can't say too much about how much work has been done," said another victim of the flood. "But it's not just about that. It's about the joy of meeting you - because I've met such diversity and such beautiful human beings that it touches your soul. You realize that even if I never see you again, you are part of the fabric of myself, and you'll always be there."

Help is "the woof and warp of association," wrote Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. "A man is alive so long as he can help things and so long as he, himself, can be helped." In creating the Volunteer Ministers movement in 1973, he provided tools to empower anyone to "help their fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring truth and spiritual values to the lives of others." He described the Volunteer Minister as a being who "does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well."

Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige ensured this technology is broadly available free of charge to anyone wishing to help their families or friends. Volunteer Ministers courses and videos enable anyone to reach out to others in times of personal crisis, or at the scene of natural or man-made disasters, wherever the need arises. Mr. Miscavige saw to the production of a series of introductory videos and 19 free online courses that contain the skills laid out by Mr. Hubbard in the Scientology Handbook, the textbook of the Volunteer Ministers.

Volunteer Ministers live by the motto, "Something can be done about it." And these courses provide the technology that makes the accomplishment of the motto possible.

The Scientology Tools for Life are available free of charge in 18 languages through the Scientology website and the Volunteer Ministers website.

LEARN MORE:

https://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/

https://www.scientology.tv/films/scientology-principles/tools-for-life.html

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VIDEO:

https://www.scientology.org/22-23/#volunteer-ministers-australia-floods

https://www.scientology.tv/films/scientology-principles/tools-for-life.html

In today's hectic world of smartphones and social media, people can become more focused on their screens than on the world around them. But, there are those whose work and commitment prove that human connection and kindness are not a thing of the past. And among them are the Scientology Volunteer Ministers, a religious social service sponsored by the Church of Scientology International.

Related link: https://www.scientology.org/

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Honored for Their Service to South Africa

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- For World Humanitarian Day, celebrated annually on August 19, the Church of Scientology honors the Volunteer Ministers of South Africa. At a recent celebration at Kyalami Castle in Midrand, South Africa, officials from across the country joined the Church in thanking the Scientology Volunteer Ministers for their service since the pandemic began. Volunteer Ministers contributed more than a million hours assisting the government and private sector to care for the most vulnerable.

Those attending included the MEC (Member of the Executive Council) for Health of the Social Development Department and officials of the Department of Justice of Gauteng. South African Local Government Association (SALGA) was also on hand, along with National Disaster Management.

The Chief of Police of the Tshwane Metro Police, and Emergency Services of Tshwane, Joburg and Ekurhuleni, representative of Mogale City and many police officers of Gauteng attended as well.

The MEC of Health Gauteng, Dr. Nomathemba Mokgethi, and the MEC of Education, Mr. Panyaza Lesufi, acknowledged two Scientology Volunteer Ministers in particular who were part of the volunteer force since the lockdown began in 2020. They each contributed more than 2,000 hours of service to the community.

Other volunteers awarded contributed at least 100 volunteer hours, many of them between 1,000 and 2,000 hours.

Mr. Freddy Williams of the Tshwane Emergency Services presented a special acknowledgment to the Church of Scientology. The Church organized and coordinated these volunteers to combat the pandemic. Volunteer Minister South Africa spokesperson Sandile Hlayisi accepted the award, crediting Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard for the program, the technology, and the passion to help South Africa.

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the world's largest independent relief forces.

Mr. Hubbard described a Volunteer Minister as "a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others." Their creed: "A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well."

Their motto is no matter the circumstances, "Something can be done about it."

Castle Kyalami serves as a home for the community and a nexus for all who share the goal of bettering the lives of individuals and strengthening communities across the region, nation and all of Africa. Mr. David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, dedicated Kyalami Castle on New Year's Day 2019, reaffirming the commitment of Mr. Hubbard that "from Southern Africa will spring the next great civilization on this planet."

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of South Africa, visit the Scientology website.

LEARN MORE:

https://www.scientologynews.org/press-releases/

https://www.scientology.org/20-21/#south-africa

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VIDEO: https://youtu.be/I5ENd7YVi-M

For World Humanitarian Day, celebrated annually on August 19, the Church of Scientology honors the Volunteer Ministers of South Africa. Volunteer Ministers contributed more than a million hours assisting the government and private sector to care for the most vulnerable.

Related link: https://www.scientology.org/

On World Humanitarian Day, Scientology Salutes Those Who Help in Times of Need

LOS ANGELES, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- World Humanitarian Day, August 19, "recognizes the efforts of aid workers who put their lives on the line to help affected people during times of global crisis." With the number and severity of natural disasters escalating and a pandemic that continues to surge, World Humanitarian Day takes on entirely new dimensions. The past 18 months have truly put the dedication and resources of humanitarians to the test. The Church of Scientology International extends thanks to:

* Healthcare workers who have put their own and their families' lives at risk to save the lives of others

* Firefighters battling the worst fire season on record in Turkey, Greece, Siberia and across the Western United States

* Organizations and individuals who tackle food insecurity in COVID-19 hot spots and disaster zones across the globe

* And the millions of men and women who reach out to those in need with personal service, acts of kindness, and who donate the funds that support victims and first responders.

"We salute the many organizations and groups our Volunteer Ministers partner with to bring indiscriminate help to those in need," says Olivia McDuff from the Public Affairs Office of the Church of Scientology International.

Traditionally, World Humanitarian Day is a time when Scientology Churches honor Volunteer Ministers who serve in their communities in times of disaster and throughout the year. And this has been an unprecedented era of help. Since the pandemic began, Scientology Volunteer Ministers teams responded to tornados in the Czech Republic and Nashville, Tennessee; earthquakes in Croatia, Pakistan and most recently Haiti; hurricanes in Costa Rica and Guatemala; fires in Greece, Sardinia, Oregon and Northern California; floods in Germany, Belgium and Greece; an oil spill in Israel, and a volcano in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

But the main thrust of Volunteer Ministers has been helping their communities get through the pandemic safe and well.

On March 13, 2020, the birthday of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, Mr. David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, reminded Scientologists of a maxim coined by Mr. Hubbard: "An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure..." Mr. Miscavige set the tone of the Church's response to the pandemic: "Well, how about a ton of prevention so as not to require an ounce of cure?"

To protect Scientology Churches, staff, parishioners and their communities, the Church researched and compiled authoritative and effective guidelines for dealing with such an outbreak and distilled them into a series of illustrated booklets written in simple, direct language anyone can understand.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers distributed more than 7.5 million copies of these booklets in 189 cities on six continents. They provided these booklets to essential businesses for their customers and to neighbors throughout their communities to ensure they understand how to protect themselves and their families.

Scientologists set up and manned helplines in Milan, Italy; Tel Aviv, Israel; and Sacramento, California. In cities across the world, Scientology Volunteer Ministers worked with other nonprofits to provide needed medical equipment, food, prescriptions and clothing to the vulnerable in their communities. They set up and contributed to food distribution drives, and helped at COVID-19 testing and vaccination stations.

The Church also researched and implemented the most effective decontaminant system available and provided training in its use to Scientology Churches worldwide. In addition to using this to protect their own Churches, Scientologists reached out in their communities with help:

* In Aruba, the Freewinds Scientology religious retreat, in coordination with the Aruba Fire Brigade, sanitized churches, public facilities and every school in the country. They were recognized for contributing to Aruba's being able to reopen its borders to tourism.

* The Freewinds also worked with Volunteer Ministers in Mexico, where a team of Scientologists was honored for sanitizing churches including the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the most visited Catholic pilgrimage destination in the world.

* The Volunteer Ministers from the ship trained teams from Scientology Churches and Missions in Colombia, Ecuador and Panama, who took on sanitizing houses of worship in their communities.

* Scientologists in Birmingham, England, also worked with the city's religious community to ensure the safety of parishioners, as did Scientologists in so many other locations, including Padua, Italy; Sydney, Australia; and Stuttgart, Germany.

But nowhere was the contribution of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers more vital and appreciated than in South Africa. Their work is documented in a series of videos on the Scientology website. To date, South African Volunteer Ministers have sanitized 2.9 million square feet of healthcare centers, orphanages, police and fire stations, transportation hubs, buses, and minibus taxis. They have distributed 1 million Stay Well booklets in English, Zulu, Xhosa and Sotho. They have trained some 12,000 people on Scientology Volunteer Ministers courses. In all, they have contributed more than a million volunteer hours to help their country through these challenging times.

In creating the program in the mid-1970s, Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote that a Volunteer Minister "helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring truth and spiritual values to the lives of others... A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well."

With the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige called on Scientologists to redouble their efforts to aid their fellow man. He issued a directive entitled "The Wake-Up Call," which has inspired exponential growth within the Volunteer Minister movement.

MULTIMEDIA:

*PHOTO link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/21-0819s2p-cos-humanitarian-300dpi.jpg

*Caption: South African Scientology Volunteer Ministers work with local fire departments, sanitizing ambulances to ensure the safety of first responders and patients.

World Humanitarian Day, August 19, "recognizes the efforts of aid workers who put their lives on the line to help affected people during times of global crisis." With the number and severity of natural disasters escalating and a pandemic that continues to surge, World Humanitarian Day takes on entirely new dimensions. The Church of Scientology International extends thanks to numerous orgs.

Related link: https://www.scientology.org/