Tampa Bay Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology Readied for Disaster Relief

Clearwater, FL – On October 10, more than 50 Tampa Bay area Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VMs) met at their center in downtown Clearwater to see how they could aid disaster relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Michael.

“There are three main areas where volunteers are needed,” said Glendy Goodsell, the Executive Director of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Florida. “We are looking for people who can go to the Panhandle and assist on disaster relief, more people to help man a crisis hotline and more to put together hygiene kits for hurricane survivors.”

VMs and other volunteer organizations will work in cooperation with local authorities to provide assistance as needed. In earlier disasters, VMs helped clear downed trees, passed out ice and water and provide spiritual assistance in the form of assists.

“Assists do not replace medical care,” said Goodsell. “The fact is, after any necessary medical treatment, the individual himself has an enormous capacity to influence the body and its well-being or lack of it. Scientology Assists were developed by L. Ron Hubbard and are actions undertaken to help a person confront physical difficulties.”

The VMs were contacted by the Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD) to help man the crisis lines. “When someone needs help after the storm,” explained VOAD Tampa Bay’s Secretary and veteran VM Judy Faegerman, “the hotline provides a place where a person can call and then get help with whatever is needed – removing debris or getting food and water as examples.”

The Volunteer Ministers program was created by L. Ron Hubbard in the mid-1970s with the mandate to help “on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Mr. Hubbard further described the Volunteer Minister as a person who “does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence.” Volunteer Ministers are trained to help others achieve relief from life’s travails and gain new personal strength as well.

In carrying out its mission, the global force of Volunteer Ministers has responded to every major disaster worldwide since 2001. The Clearwater and Tampa Bay Volunteer Ministers played a leading role in relief efforts following the World Trade Center tragedy in New York, the South Asian 2004 tsunami, Hurricanes Katrina and Irma and hundreds of other disaster sites.

For information about how you can help, please call the VM Center directly at (727) 467-6965.

The Volunteer Minister (VM) program was launched more than thirty years ago, in response to an appeal by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. Volunteer Ministers have trained and partnered with over 1,000 different groups, organizations and agencies around the world, including the Red Cross, National Guard, Army Cadets, Salvation Army, Boy Scouts, Rotary Clubs, civil defense and disaster management agencies, YMCAs, police and fire departments of dozens of cities and towns and hundreds more national and regional groups and organizations.

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Clearwater, FL 33755

This release was published on openPR.