Volunteer Ministers and the Help They Provide

There's a new Scientology Newsroom site at www.scientologynews.org Lots of great data, and this description of the VM program:

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers Corps is an embracive program of the Church of Scientology to provide community service, disaster relief and emergency response. Created more than 30 years ago by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, the program has expanded to over 200,000 Volunteer Ministers worldwide who have served at 187 disaster sites, including Ground Zero after 9/11, the Southeast Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and Haiti.

Volunteer Ministers have trained and partnered with more than 1,000 different groups, organizations and agencies including the Red Cross, FEMA, the National Guard, and police and fire departments. The Volunteer Ministers Corps motto is “Something can be done about it.”

In addition to assisting people in need in their own communities, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have helped hundreds of thousands in major cities around the world and in far flung outposts. Our 18 Continental Volunteer Minister traveling centers (marquee yellow tents) and have toured through 170 countries covering over 300,000 miles, including a Volunteer Ministers barge traveling on the Amazon River, two centers traveling throughout Western and Central Africa and a traveling center in the outback of Australia.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers also routinely work side by side with other emergency response and relief organizations helping to save lives and bring order to disaster zones.

In 2001, more than 800 VMs responded to the World Trade Center disaster and provided spiritual and practical aid to emergency workers for many weeks. They have also been an integral part of rescue and salvage efforts at the sites of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes and fires.

More than 500 VMs from 11 nations served in relief efforts in Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka in 2005 after the Tsunami. Their work was reported on by international media including CNN, The Economist, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

The service of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers has been recognized by politicians, police, military, other relief agencies and civic authorities. A mayor in Louisiana whose city had been hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 said, “I was very happy when more than 900 of your Church Volunteer Ministers arrived in my city from all over the world and became a major force in bringing physical and spiritual help to those in need.”

For more information on the Scientology Volunteer Ministers click here.

Labels: church of scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology Volunteer Ministers