PRESS RELEASES
INTERNATIONAL •
2013 was a year of outstanding achievements for the international dissemination branch of the Scientology religion and the publishers of the religious works of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Golden Era Productions, the international dissemination branch of the Scientology religion, and Bridge Publications Inc., publishers of the religious works of L. Ron Hubbard, earned 241 technical and artistic achievement awards for the quality of their printed and audiovisual work.
SI RACHA, THAILAND •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers group of Si Racha, Thailand, celebrates its fourth anniversary with renewed commitment to help the community.
On the Thailand coast, 60 miles south of Bangkok, a team of Scientology Volunteer Ministers from the town of Si Racha are celebrating their fourth anniversary as an organized group. Over the past four years, they have gained a reputation as people you can turn to for help, no matter the circumstances.
PLETTENBERG BAY, SOUTH AFRICA •
A team of volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Port Elizabeth, South Africa, are working with local officials to raise the quality of life in their community.
To make the West Cape town of Plettenberg Bay safer for all who live and work there, volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Port Elizabeth and Plettenberg Bay (Plett) South African Police Service (SAPS) officers joined forces February 16 to distribute copies of The Way to Happiness.
SOCHI, RUSSIA •
Volunteers from Scientology Churches in Moscow and St. Petersburg promote healthy, drug-free living at Sochi Winter Games.
With thousands of visitors in Sochi from around the world, volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Moscow and the Church of Scientology of St. Petersburg were there, encouraging one and all to embrace a healthy, drug-free lifestyle and to join in the grassroots initiative to create a world free of drug abuse and addiction.
LIMPOPO, SOUTH AFRICA •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers join thousands in Limpopo January 25 in tribute to the legacy of His Majesty King Mampuru II.
The Scientology Volunteer Ministers African Goodwill Tour was honored to join the thousands paying tribute to the memory and heritage of King Mampuru II January 25 at the annual Mampuru Day celebration.
SPAIN •
Throughout the year, Scientologists provide drug education to reduce drug demand through education.
A study published in February 2014 in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment found that cocaine users admitted for drug abuse treatment in Spain suffer a fatality rate 5.1 times higher than the general population. Drug prevention volunteers from the National Church of Scientology of Spain have mobilized to tackle this situation.
TAICHUNG, TAIWAN •
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Taichung help commuters cope with the pitfalls of modern lifestyles. Is there a way to cope with the negative aspects of city life? Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Taichung believe there is—The Way to Happiness, a commonsense moral code that empowers the individual to live a happy life no matter the circumstances.
VENEZUELA •
Volunteers from the Scientology Churches and Missions of Venezuela reach thousands this month in their campaign to combat drug abuse and its debilitating effects on the culture.
Day after day, Truth About Drugs volunteers from the Scientology Churches and Missions of Venezuela work at the grassroots level to uplift the culture by combating drug abuse before it begins.
WOBULENZI, UGANDA •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers conduct seminar in Central Uganda village of Wobulenzi
Some 35 miles (57 kilometers) north of Kampala in the Luwero District of Central Uganda, villagers of the town of Wobulenzi learned an important lesson at a Scientology Volunteer Ministers seminar on conflict resolution.
The town council chairman and local teachers were among the 900 villagers who attended the program conducted by a team of Kampala-based Scientology Volunteer Ministers.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
A recent graduate of the online Emotional Tone Scale Course learned why the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers is “Something CAN be Done About It.”
Have you ever needed to know someone’s motives, and you just couldn’t be sure?
This was the exact scenario that prompted someone to enroll on the Emotional Tone Scale Course on the Volunteer Ministers website this week.
Not only did she learn significant information that helped her make some astute business choices, but what she learned also affected her personal life as well.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
Contributing to the welfare and survival of others is a fundamental principle of Scientology. Scientologists donate millions of man hours annually to help others.
The bedrock of our society is the men, women and children who volunteer their time to serve the community. And volunteers are the heart and soul of the many humanitarian programs supported by the Church of Scientology.
AMAZON RIVER, SOUTH AMERICA •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers Amazon River Goodwill Tour marks seven years of service. Group has provided one-on-one help to more than 200,000.
Flooding is so commonplace along the Amazon River that in some places, entire villages are built on stilts.
JAPAN •
To counter teen bullying and its consequences, Scientology-supported human rights group introduces young Japanese martial arts students to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA •
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Sydney encourage drug-free living in 2014
Sydney Scientologists celebrated the Chinese New Year by distributing thousands of copies of Truth About Drugs booklets at the Chinese New Year Market in the heart of the city. Their New Year’s wish: for 2014 to be a year of health and happiness, free from the harmful effects of drugs.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA •
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Nizhny Novgorod help launch a different kind of Winter Olympics: the Anti-Drug Olympiad 2014.
Nine hundred miles north of Sochi, a second “Winter Olympics” has just begun: Drug education and prevention volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Nizhny Novgorod helped launch the Anti-Drug Olympiad of 2014, an initiative aimed at helping youth live healthy, productive, drug-free lives.
TOKYO, JAPAN •
Church of Scientology supports drug education initiative that has reached more than 50,000 through drug education lectures
The volunteers of the drug education and prevention initiative supported by the Church of Scientology of Tokyo have just accomplished a milestone: They have now reached 50,000 people with drug education.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, RUSSIA •
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Nizhny Novgorod are committed to drug education year-round.
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology Mission of Nizhny Novgorod are out on the streets this January. They are distributing copies of drug education booklets to help local youth learn the truth about drugs and avoid the epidemic of heroin abuse that Russian Drug Czar Viktor Ivanov has described as a “dragon” that is “ravaging our youth.”
AFRICA •
Scientology Goodwill Tours—bringing effective solutions to communities for the past ten years
OKLAHOMA, USA •
Scientology Volunteer Ministers from across the United States volunteer to help communities cope when disaster strikes
With tornado season fast approaching (there were 39 U.S. tornadoes in February 2013) Scientology Volunteer Ministers teams from across the country are poised to respond.
The most erratic of natural disasters, the tornado strikes with a fury unparalleled by any other force of nature. So it was from May 19 to 31, when a series of tornados devastated Oklahoma and other Midwestern states.
ROME, ITALY •
Church of Scientology of Rome works with civic and religious leaders to promote freedom of thought, religion and conscience
The Church of Scientology of Rome hosted a religious freedom round table in December, “Integration and Cooperation: Tolerance, Respect of Religious Belief and Defense of Human Rights.”
The three-hour program focused on human dignity and the historic background of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.