FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Church of Scientology Sacramento Hosts Day of Friendship Breakfast and Awards Ceremony

Second annual International Friendship Day event acknowledges community leaders.

Seven Sacramento community and religious leaders were honored July 30 at the second annual United Nations International Friendship Day “Friends of the Community” breakfast and awards ceremony at the Church of Scientology of Sacramento.

International Friendship Day was proclaimed by the UN in the belief “that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities.”

In keynote addresses, honorees Dr. Alice Baber-Banks, founding pastor of Christian Fellowship Ministry Church and Councilmember Allen Warren focused on the importance of friendship and reaching out across diverse cultures to create a better society.

Rev. Baber-Banks, a founding member of the Birthing Project, has received the Harriet Tubman Award, the NAACP Achievement Award and the Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento Power of One Award.

Warren represents Sacramento District 2 and serves on numerous civic and community service boards. He has received the Robert Matsui Community Service Award and American Leadership Community Service Award and was named Father of the Year by the Center for Fathers and Families and the American Heart Association.

Others honored as Friends of the Community 2013 were:

  • Mona Foster, founder of Hui o Hawaii (Hawaii Club) of Sacramento, Inc. and cofounder of the Indigenous Pacific Islander Council and Sacramento Pacific Islander Leadership Forum. She co-chairs the Sacramento District Attorney’s Multicultural Advisory Council and serves numerous foundations, councils and public benefit organizations. She received the 2012 Outstanding Service Commendation Award from the Sacramento District Attorney’s Office.
  • Mindi Russell, Senior Chaplain and Executive Director of the Sacramento Law Enforcement Chaplaincy. She is the recipient of the National Crime Victim Service Award from President Bush and the John A. Price Award from the International Conference of Police Chaplains.
  • Frank Russell, Deputy Senior Chaplain of Sacramento Law Enforcement Chaplaincy. Under his and Mindi’s leadership the chaplaincy program has become a model program for the nation.
  • Lady Gail Allen, Chief of Staff Administrator of the International Faith-Based Coalition. She has served many faith-based and community organizations.
  • Dashan Mundy, member of the board of the Interfaith Bureau of Sacramento and advisory boards of the Sacramento Sheriff, Sacramento Police and Homeland Security. He has organized disaster relief to aid victims of the Pakistan earthquake, Indonesia tsunami and Hurricane Katrina and has received citations, awards and recognitions from Meals on Wheels and Loaves of Fishes of Sacramento.

The ceremony, sponsored by The Way to Happiness Foundation, began with a video public service announcement, “Set a Good Example,” that illustrates one of the 21 precepts of The Way to Happiness, a nonreligious commonsense moral code written by author, humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.

The Church of Scientology Sacramento opened its new home at 1007 6th Street on January 28, 2012. An Ideal Scientology Organization, its facilities are 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 citizens of all denominations.

Scientology: How We Help—The Way to Happiness, Creating a World of Honesty, Trust & Self-Respect is one of a series of brochures presented by the Church of Scientology International to meet requests for more information about the Scientology religion and its support of global humanitarian initiatives and social betterment programs.