Los Topos and the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Mexico Provide Disaster Response Training

Los Topos, the famous search and rescue group of Mexico, and Volunteer Ministers Armando García and Dr. Sandra Ramirez are holding series of seminars in first aid and Volunteer Minister disaster response techniques at the Church of Scientology of Mexico, Balderas No. 27, Centro Historico, Del Cuautémoc, Mexico D.F.

“Los Topos” means the moles—the name given to the group by their fans for their heroic feats, burrowing under collapsed buildings to pull survivors out of the rubble. Their official title, Tecnicos en Urgencias Medicas, Seguridad y Rescate 19 de Septembre (Emergency Medical Technicians, Security and Rescue of September 19), comes from their work on that date om 1985 when a magnitude 8.1 earthquake killed some 9,500 and left 100,000 homeless in the Mexican state of Michoacan.

Los Topos and the Volunteer Ministers joined forces in Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake, and have worked together this year in Christchurch, New Zealand and Northeastern Japan after the devastating earthquakes in those regions. The Los Topos staff are trained in Scientology Volunteer Minister technology and use it liberally in their work.

To register for the seminar contact the Church of Scientology Mexico at (55) 5211-4004 or email info@scientologymexico.org.

^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Church of Scientology International Honors Haiti Volunteers

Marking National Volunteer Week, Scientology Church praises 1,000 volunteers for more than 150,000 hours in Haiti relief effort

The Church of Scientology International, mother church of the Scientology religion, today acknowledged 1,000 volunteers who have served in Haiti since the January 12, 2010, earthquake.

The Rev. Robert Adams of the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology International presented a special Letter of Commendation to Scientology Volunteer Ministers International director Maria Reyher, citing the life-saving actions of all the volunteers who were sponsored by the Church to travel to Haiti.

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^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Church of Scientology Recognizes Five Groups for National Volunteer Week

Tampa Bay, Florida - April 21, 2010 - In keeping with this year’s theme for National Volunteer Week of “Celebrating People in Action”, on Friday, April 23^rd at the historic Fort Harrison in downtown Clearwater, the Church of Scientology will recognize five groups in Florida who collectively have provided millions of hours in volunteer time since the beginning of 2010 – a period of time which has seen major natural disaster as well as economic upheaval affecting the lives of millions of people just in this region of the world alone. The groups which will be recognized are: Project Medishare of the University of Miami Hospital, Feeding America Tampa Bay, Disaster Management of United Way Tampa Bay, the United Relief Force Foundation and the Willa Carson Health Resource Center. The Church of Scientology recognizes the dedicated actions of the volunteers from these groups who have committed themselves to senseless acts of kindness resulting in over 1,000,000 hours of donated time in the first 4 months of 2010 alone, millions of dollars in donations and hundreds of thousands of people helped in Haiti, Florida, Tampa Bay and Clearwater.

“We have had the privilege of working with these dynamic groups and want them to know that their work is important to the stability and development of our communities,” said Pat Harney, the Public Affairs Director of the Church of Scientology, Flag Service Organization. “We chose these organizations because we have seen their work close up and know how much they mean to Clearwater, Tampa Bay and beyond.” According to Harney, the event is inspired by the founder of the Scientology religious philosophy Mr. Hubbard, who once wrote, “A being is only as valuable as he can serve others.”

WHO WILL BE RECOGNIZED:

1. Project Medishare of the University of Miami Hospital, the group that organized, built and manned the largest field hospital in history on the airport grounds of Port-au-Prince, Haiti following the massive earthquake disaster there.

2. Feeding America Tampa Bay; formerly known as America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay was founded in 1982, is a food bank servicing 35,000 hungry people from 10 counties of Tampa Bay with some 10 million meals. In a single week, they provide over 50,000 meals.

3. Hands on Tampa Bay, United Way Tampa Bay, has 3,500 volunteers who have delivered 22,819 hours of service, the equivalent of nearly 11 years of work for the community.

4. The United Relief Force Foundation was initiated in February 2007 in Orlando by a group of college students dedicated to improving the lives of people who need humanitarian aid, emergency response and disaster relief to countries that have experienced natural and man-made disasters. Recently, several of their members dedicated themselves to the problems of the February 12^th earthquake in Haiti, joining forces with the Scientology Volunteer Ministers to reach out and assist the citizens there.

5. Willa Carson Health Resource Center is a non-profit, volunteer organization that provides free basic health care services to the citizens the neighborhood of Greenwood in Clearwater, Florida.

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK

National Volunteer Week was signed into executive order by President Richard Nixon on April 20^th, 1974 declaring the third week in April be dedicated to those who give their time to charity. Since then all the US presidents who have followed have called upon Americans to volunteer service to others and to raise awareness to the importance of volunteering during this week. In 1990, the Points of Light Foundation now called the Points of Light Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of people and resources in volunteering so as to help solve serious social problems, adopted the sponsorship of the National Volunteer Week, and is promoting efforts for this week, which falls on April 18^th to 24^th this year.

If you would like to know how you can help your community contact Pat Harney at (727) 467 – 6860 or email her at patharney@flag.org.

^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Actress and Scientology Volunteer Minister decides to dedicate her service to the Las Vegas Community

Las Vegas - Cassandra Hepburn, 33, who recently returned from 12 days on the Scientology Disaster Relief Response Team in Haiti, has joined staff at the new Church of Scientology and Celebrity Centre in Las Vegas. The actress, who appeared in the Quentin Tarantino film "Hellride" and the daytime dramas "The Young and the Restless" and "As the World Turns," is eager to assume her new position at the Church to serve the Las Vegas community.

The volunteer service in Haiti on the Scientology Disaster Response Team changed her life, Hepburn says. Born in the Philippines and raised in London, Hong Kong and Switzerland, she has led no sheltered life, but she says her time in Haiti opened her eyes to what helping others is all about.

Hepburn arrived in Haiti on February 14 aboard a Scientology-sponsored charter flight and immediately joined the team of volunteers helping refugees in three IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps.

"Living conditions for the volunteers and medical professionals were pretty rugged--we slept in tents on cots or in sleeping bags on concrete slabs or hard floors, and we ate MREs (Meals Ready-to-Eat-- food rations that are also used by the United States Armed Forces), but compared to the conditions at the IDP camps this was luxurious," she said. In the IDP camps, entire families live out in the open, their only protection from the elements a sheet or a tarp suspended from a branch. "Unless we act now to provide shelter for the refugees there will be devastation during the upcoming rainy season."

Hepburn's assignment in Haiti also included working in local orphanages with a team of medical professionals who provided checkups while volunteers gave food and toys to the children. "They were so happy to see that someone cared," she said.

Back in Las Vegas, Hepburn is approaching her new position as a staff member of the Church of Scientology of Las Vegas with renewed spirit, taking her inspiration from Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard who wrote, "A being is only as valuable as he can serve others."

^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Ayal Lindeman - Scientology Volunteer Minister and EMT

NBC Connecticut

Earthquake Victim Gets Special CT Treatment

By AMANDA RAUS

Updated 4:34 PM EST, Mon, Feb 22, 2010

Ralph-Marie Gedeon, 22, lost his leg in the Haiti earthquake and is a little closer to walking once again after being carried off the airplane.

The Haitian native spent two days trapped under the rubble in the devastating earthquake that hit the country last month as his father desperately tried to set him free.

“His father, day one, started digging for him and couldn’t quite get to him, so came back day two with a few of his friends and literally, with no special tools but his hands, dug him out of this rubble field and transported him to what’s left of this hospital,” Dr. David Gibson, of the Center for Orthopedics in New Haven, said.

But Gedeon was severely injured. His leg, which was crushed by the debris, had to be amputated, but Gedeon would’ve rather died before giving up his leg, so Ayal Lindeman, the man from Scientology Volunteer Ministers who helped nurse Gedeon back to health, made the young man a promise.

“He calls me and says, ‘Can you help me with this scenario. If I tell this kid, he’s got my friend of 30 years to take care of him and he’s going to get a leg, a stateside leg, he’ll have the amputation, will you do it?’ What do you say to that? You say thank you for the blessing to be able to help with that,” Gibson said.

Now Gedeon will be under the care of Gibson, an orthopedic surgeon who hopes to give Gedeon a prosthetic leg and the ability to walk once again.

All of his services, the prosthesis and the hospital stay at the Hospital of Saint Raphael will all be free of cost, as was the ambulance ride from the airport.

“The opportunity to do something like this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; it’s a blessing to be able to do,” said Dr. Gibson.

^{-----
"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Haiti: What Skills and Supplies are Needed

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers blog lists out what supplies and skills are needed most in the Haiti relief effort.
^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Haiti Relief Team on Fox 9 News

^{"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe." L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology Religion.}