LAPD and the Church of Scientology Awarded by the Faith and Blue Initiative

The Los Angeles Police Department and the Church of Scientology win the National Faith and Blue Weekend contest, illustrating how much can be accomplished when law enforcement and the community work together.

The LAPD and the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles have won the National Faith and Blue Weekend Photo Contest for the “confidence, purpose and togetherness of the volunteers” shown in their massive Faith and Blue Weekend cleanup. Faith and Blue is a grass-roots initiative that seeks to create “safer, stronger, more just and unified communities” through “partnerships among law enforcement professionals, residents, businesses and community groups through the connections of local faith-based organizations.”

Cosponsored by the Church of Scientology Los Angeles and the Hollywood Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, Faith and Blue Weekend in Hollywood bought together 50 community partners to clean and beautify the neighborhood. 

Under the banner “Unity in the Community,” more than 460 volunteers cleaned 170 city blocks, washed 200 storefronts and beautified some 1,300 square feet of spaces with a graffiti paint-out.

Among the 50 organizations that came together in support of this initiative were the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the Hollywood Partnership, the L.A. Office of Community Beautification, the L.A. Department of Sanitation, and numerous local businesses and faith-based organizations.

Restaurants including Shakey’s and Pink’s Hotdogs set up tables of snacks and drinks for the volunteers. Home Depot and GarboGrabber brought supplies. A mariachi band entertained the crowd gathered in the parking lot of Hollywood’s iconic Capitol Records Building. And the volunteers provided the muscle.

Delighted with the turnout, the LAPD Hollywood Captain thanked the Church of Scientology for its commitment to making Hollywood “a safer and cleaner place.” 

Faith and Blue founder Rev. Markel Hutchins, who arrived in Los Angeles from Atlanta, Georgia, to launch the city’s Faith and Blue Weekend celebrations, was equally enthusiastic about the turnout, because when faiths, communities and law enforcement work together, they can bridge differences, increase collaboration and reduce bias and violence.

The Church of Scientology, LAPD and The Way to Happiness Foundation have partnered in monthly neighborhood cleanups since 2018, including a special annual scouring of Hollywood Boulevard on the eve of each year’s Hollywood Christmas Parade.

 

After each cleanup, volunteers hand out copies of The Way to Happiness, written by humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. The Way to Happiness is a common-sense nonreligious moral code with 21 precepts to guide people to make better choices in their lives.

To learn more about how Scientology Churches host members of the community for events of every size and description in cities all over the world, visit the interactive timeline created by Scientology Media Productions on the Scientology website. Or tune in to the Scientology Network, which began rolling out its new season of programming on April 10.

The Scientology Network debuted on March 12, 2018. Since launching, with a special featuring Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige, the Scientology Network takes viewers across six continents, spotlighting the everyday lives of Scientologists, showing the Church as a global organization, and presenting its social betterment programs that have touched the lives of millions worldwide. The network also showcases documentaries by independent filmmakers who represent a cross-section of cultures and faiths, but share a common purpose of uplifting communities.

Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church’s global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320, DIRECTV STREAM, AT&T U-verse and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.