PRESS RELEASES
SWITZERLAND •
Scientologist Barbara Schneider is a model, TV personality, paramedic, Scientology counselor and mother of four who didn’t anticipate how well things would turn out 18 years ago when things went wrong. Born and working as a paramedic in Lugano, Switzerland, in the early 1990s a failed relationship left her desperate to get away. “I went to a travel agent and told him I needed a change,” she says. “I wanted to be someplace far away and on the sea.”
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA •
The Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre hosted its 43rd Anniversary Gala in Hollywood on Saturday, August 25th. More than a thousand Scientologists and guests attended including many of the Church’s well-known members, among them John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Pena, Anne Archer, Jenna Elfman, Danny Masterson, Jason Lee, Erika Christensen, Nancy Cartwright and Stanley Clarke whose special performance closed the evening’s celebration.
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL •
On August 21, national and city dignitaries as well as religious leaders joined Scientologists from Israel and 27 nations to celebrate the opening of the new Center of Scientology in Tel Aviv. The Center is the first Ideal Scientology Organization (Ideal Org) in the Middle East and designed to both serve the growing membership and provide Scientology-sponsored humanitarian programs throughout the region.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA •
Publisher of the works of L. Ron Hubbard acknowledged as industry leader
HOLLAND •
Former drug addicts carry out 350 km (217 mile) run to raise awareness on the danger of drugs
Volunteers from the Church of Scientology of Amsterdam joined former addicts in a two-week 350 km (217 mile) anti-drug marathon through Holland to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs. The team kicked off their cross-country journey August 2 in the town of Den Helder with the mayor joining them for the first kilometer of the run.
LONDON, ENGLAND •
The Jive Aces, Britain’s No. 1 Jive and Swing Band, welcome visitors in London for the Olympics with a fun-loving drug-free message.
Olympics fans from around the world danced in the streets of London during the Olympic as the Jive Aces serenaded the city from the Drug-Free World double-decker bus, spreading the word that life is much more fun when you live it drug-free.
TAMPA, FLORIDA •
The Church of Scientology of Tampa honored five civic leaders August 4 at a special open house held in honor of International Day of Friendship. The Church presented awards to Shannon Edge, Maria Asuncion Lopez, Sam Mobley, Dr. Wallace Reyes, and Pastor Essie Sims for their work to make a difference in the Tampa Bay community.
MAYWOOD, ILLINOIS •
Former NBA center and member of the U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball Team of 1972, Jim Brewer reflects on competing in the Munich Games and the direction his life has taken since then.
RUSSIA •
In honor of the 10th anniversary of their annual Human Rights Marathon, Scientology Churches and Missions throughout the Commonwealth of Independent States have dedicated the entire month from July 5 to August 4 to human rights awareness activities.
Major events were staged in cities throughout the CIS. The month’s activities began July 5 in Kiev with the grand finale held Saturday, August 4 in St. Petersburg.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS •
This summer, volunteers from the Church of Scientology are taking aim against drugs in the Waterland and Zaan region of the Netherlands, where teen drug abuse runs well above national averages. In this area, one in five youths ages 13 – 17 have used drugs—one in 11 in the past month alone.
LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA •
On Saturday, July 28, fifteen hundred Scientologists from across the San Francisco Bay Area gathered to rededicate the Church of Scientology Los Gatos.
MADRID, SPAIN •
For the first time, the Scientology religion is included in the Diccionario de la Lengua Española de la Real Academia Española (Dictionary of the Spanish Language of the Royal Academy of Spain) or DRAE, the most authoritative dictionary of the Spanish language. Produced, edited, and published by the Royal Spanish Academy since 1780 and now in its 22nd edition, it defines Scientology religion as a “religious movement originating in the United States, which aims to promote awareness through certain introspective techniques.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS •
On the 10th anniversary of the completion of the Ground Zero cleanup operation, Scientologist Caralyn Percy remembers 9/11/01.
Scientologist Caralyn Percy’s rendition of “Everyday Heroes” by Geoff Levin and Harriet Schock is a tribute to rescue and recovery workers of Ground Zero, New York. If it resonates with a compassion born of experience, it’s because Percy was there.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA •
The Church of Scientology Community Center of South Los Angeles hosted a special performance June 24, the fifth annual concert of “Love-in-Music,” a nonprofit organization that introduces underserved children of the Los Angeles area to the joys of classical music.
INTERNATIONAL •
Active in drug education and prevention throughout the year, Scientologists around the world participated in United Nations Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
WASHINGTON, D.C. •
The empowerment of knowing how to know.
Scientologist Patricia Gore is a “first” lady.
She was the first in her family to finish college and receive a master’s degree, first to move away from home, first to work eight years for the Congress of the United States—during the Carter and Reagan administrations, and the first Black ever to have achieved the State of Clear on African soil.
TAMPA, FLORIDA •
Scientologist Paola Martinez, working to make human rights a fact.
Scientologist Paola Martinez, Human Rights Coordinator of the Church of Scientology Tampa, hosted the second annual Colors of the World Fair Trade Fashion Show for Human Rights June 9—one of the many programs she participates in to raise awareness on human right issues and bring an end to abuse in Tampa, Florida, and around the world.
DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA •
Students at the Lord Baden Powell Memorial School in Dar es Salaam earn certificates from the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Africa Goodwill Tour
A special graduation June 13 at the Lord Baden Powell Memorial School in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, acknowledged students who completed Disaster Response Specialist Training through the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Africa Goodwill Tour.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK •
More than a thousand Buffalo Area Scientologists gathered on Saturday, June 30, to celebrate the rededication of the Church of Scientology Buffalo.
PHOENIX, ARIZONA •
Amid a burst of confetti and a flight of balloons, the ribbon was parted on the new Church of Scientology Ideal Organization of Phoenix on Saturday, June 23. More than 1,500 Scientologists, neighbors and dignitaries joined Church officials for the dedication ceremony.