Looking Back on the Past Ten Years of the Volunteer Ministers Movement

September 21, 2011

New York City, September 2001: Scientology Volunteer Ministers at Ground Zero.

New York City, September 2001: Scientology Volunteer Ministers provided help to rescue workers at Ground Zero

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New York City, September 2001: The Volunteer Ministers set up a tent and organized donations of food, drinks and supplies to provide for the needs of rescue and cleanup personnel at Ground Zero.

New York City, September 2001: A Volunteer Minister at Ground Zero

New York City, September 2002: Scientology Volunteer Ministers participate in Manhattan’s 9/11 memorial parade.

California 2003: Volunteer Ministers provided food, water and assists to firefighters who battled brush fires throughout Southern California.

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Florida, August 2004: Volunteer Ministers set up a relief center after Hurricane Charley struck the area.

Ten years of unconditional help by Scientology Volunteer Ministers around the world.

The work of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers who served at Ground
Zero in the months following 9/11 served as a model and inspiration for a movement that now spans the globe.

Although the Volunteer Ministers program was first established in 1976, when the twin towers collapsed 10 years ago it marked a turning point for the movement, signaling to Scientologists around the world a greatly heightened necessity to make a positive difference in society.  There were 6,000 Volunteer Ministers in September 2001—today more than 200,000 wear the signature yellow T-shirt, reaching out in their communities and wherever disaster strikes—no matter how small—to help others improve their lives and those of their friends and family.

Over the past decade, time and again, Volunteer Ministers have acted with selfless courage in the manner described by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard: 

“A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice of existence. Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well.” —L. Ron Hubbard

Following is a list of some of the disasters in which Volunteer Ministers have served over the past 10 years.

  2001

• Eight hundred Scientology Volunteer Ministers from the U.S. and abroad worked tirelessly for months in the toxic ruins of Ground Zero, New York, to support the massive rescue and cleanup effort.  Along with international relief organizations such as the Red Cross and VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster), they organized the donation and distribution of food and other needed supplies to first responders and rescue workers. In addition to caring for their physical needs, they provided Scientology assists to relieve spiritual and emotional trauma.

  2002

• Volunteer Ministers helped in the cleanup after a volcanic eruption in January in the Congo left 120,000 homeless.

• In August, when the Danube overflowed its banks in the worst flooding in 200 years, Volunteer Ministers helped man sandbag lines to protect cities in Hungary and Czech Republic.

• On October 23, Chechen terrorists held 850 hostage at the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow. Volunteer Ministers assisted police and rescue workers to  care for the survivors, and provided succor to the families of the victims.

  2003

• When the "2003 Firestorm" burned over 280,000 acres of residential and wild lands in Southern California in October, Volunteer Ministers supported firefighters with water, food and Scientology assists.

  2004

• When terrorists struck Madrid on March 11, Volunteer Ministers provided relief to victims and their families. 

• Volunteer Ministers provided aid the victims of Hurricanes Charlie, Frances and Jeanne in Florida.

 

Indonesia, 2005: A Scientology Volunteer Minister in Indonesia carries a child out of the wreckage of the tsunami.

.India, 2005: Providing Volunteer Ministers training in India after the 2004 tsunami.

.Banda Aceh, Indonesia, 2005: Scientology Volunteer Ministers trained Muslim clerics and local officials in Banda Aceh who went on to help thousands of people in their communities.

New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005: More than 900 Scientology Volunteer Ministers from throughout the U.S. and abroad traveled to the Gulf Coast to help provide relief after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Louisiana, 2005: Scientologists remained in the Gulf Coast after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita where storm damage was so widespread, local residents needed help with cleanup and construction.

With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 we look back at the work of the Volunteer Minister over the past decade. The Scientology Volunteer Ministers who served at Ground Zero in the months following 9/11 inspired those who responded to these and other devastating disasters in 2005 and 2006.

  2005

• In 2005, as the New Year began, teams of Scientology Volunteer Ministers from 26 nations were already in place or en route to Thailand, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India to provide relief. An earthquake on December 26, 2004 had unleashed the deadliest tsunami in recorded history.  For months, Volunteer Ministers provided any service needed, from search and rescue and identifying the dead to providing food and other supplies to those left homeless.  By training thousands in Scientology disaster response technology, from police and military officers to Buddhist monks and Muslim clerics, they extended help to hundreds of thousands and established Volunteer Ministers groups throughout the region to continue to provide help.

• In August 2005, when Hurricane Katrina slammed into the United States Gulf Coast, more than 900 Volunteer Ministers responded, assisting police, military and other first responders.  They manned shelters, provided childcare, helped displaced persons locate loved ones and cleaned up and helped with the reconstruction of homes and neighborhoods in towns and cities in Louisiana and Mississippi.

• Volunteer Ministers aided the victims of Hurricanes Stan in Guatemala and Wilma in Florida and, helped in Kentucky after tornadoes struck.

  2006

• In Mozambique, Volunteer Ministers worked with UNICEF and the Mozambique military to provide relief.  They left behind a 70-man team they trained in Scientology assists technology.

• VMs were also on hand to provide relief from mudslides in the Philippines.

• When Cyclone Larry hit Australia, teams of VMs were there. Volunteer Ministers also helped in the wake of a 7.8 earthquakes and tsunami in Java, and following a typhoon in the Philippines.  They assisted firefighters battling bushfires in Victoria, Australia, and helped victims of tornadoes in Tennessee.

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Peru, 2007: Volunteer Ministers flew to Peru in August to provide aid when a magnitude 8 earthquake destroyed most of the city of Pisco.

Peru, 2007: Survivors of the Pisco earthquake, frightened the shelters would also collapse were provided assists to help overcome their fear.

India, 2008: After record flooding, Volunteer Ministers from Kolkata brought medical personnel and supplies to Bihar.

India, 2008: Volunteer Ministers traveled by inflatable raft to outlying villages in Bihar, India, that were stranded by floods.

L'Aquila, Italy--2009: Scientology Volunteer Ministers built temporary housing for those left homeless by the 6.3 magnitude earthquake.

Italy, 2009: Scientology Volunteer Ministers who are civil protection specialists responded after the L'Aquila earthquake.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers who served at Ground Zero in the months following 9/11 set a standard for disaster response and inspired a movement that carried forward for the past decade, as evidenced by the work of Volunteer Ministers at disaster sites on six continents between 2007 and 2009.

    2007

• In April, Australian Volunteer Ministers provided relief in the Solomon Islands after an 8.1 earthquake and tsunami washed away entire villages.

• Latin America and U.S. Volunteer Ministers flew to Peru in August when a magnitude 8 earthquake destroyed most of the coastal city of Pisco.  Working with the National Civil Defense System, United Nations agencies, the Red Cross and the military they helped in the search and rescue, manned shelters and used Scientology assists to help survivors overcome the shock and trauma of the incident.

• They also manned relief centers and provided support to firefighters battling blazes in Southern California.

    2008

• After record flooding in August in the state of Bihar, India, Volunteer Ministers from Kolkata enlisted the help of doctors, organized a mobile medical center and brought them to the disaster zone. They also brought food and supplies by boat directly to stranded villagers throughout the region.

• Scientology Volunteer Ministers from Costa Rica helped in the wake of the 6.2 quake northwest of San Jose—the worst in that country in 150 years.

• South African Volunteer Ministers helped provide food, water and assists to firefighters battling the blaze on Table Mountain in Cape Town, as did Australian VMs during the Victoria brush fires, and their counterparts in Southern California during their fire season this year.

• There were also Volunteer Ministers on hand to help those affected by tornadoes in Kansas and Iowa, flooding and volcanic eruption in Colombia, and mudslides in Seattle, Washington.

    2009

• The L’Aquila 6.3 magnitude earthquake of April 6 left 65,000 homeless. The deadliest Italian quake in 30 years, it knocked out the infrastructure across 26 towns. Scientology Volunteer Ministers whose team leaders are fully certified Civil Protection Specialists operated under National Command and Control headquarters in Rome and supplied administrative and tactical support to relief camps and Disaster Command Central. They also built temporary housing, administrated shelters, ran the ambulance service, directed medical services, and distributed emergency rations.

   

January 2010 - Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Volunteer Ministers unload medical supplies and food from Scientology-sponsored flights.

Haiti, 2010: Hundreds of Volunteer Ministers helped with any needed task from distributing food to caring for newborn babies.

Haiti, 2010: Once the immediate emergency was over a permanent base was established to provide help to the people of the country.

Haiti, 2010: Scores of local Volunteer Ministers groups and hundreds of thousands of local residents have attended Volunteer Ministers seminars.

Uganda, 2010:In March,VMs from Kenya traveled to neighboring Uganda after record rains caused mudslides.

Pakistan, 2010: In response to the worst floods in 80 years,VMs provided aide the people of the region.

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Haifa, Israel - 2010: The distinctive yellow tent served as a relief headquarters for those fighting the fires outside Haifa.

Thailand, 2010: Scientology Volunteer Ministers climbed aboard military trucks and headed to the flooded areas.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers who served at Ground Zero in the months following 9/11 set a standard for disaster response and inspired a movement that carried forward for the past decade. In 2010,  hundreds of thousands trained in the skills of the Scientology Volunteer Minister reached out and helped others in times of disaster.

• When the Haiti earthquake struck in January, the Church of Scientology sponsored chartered flights of doctors, nurses, EMTs and Volunteer Ministers to provide support to medical teams. The Church chartered a former Coast Guard vessel to transport hundreds of tons of medical supplies, equipment, food, water and clothing. Scientology Volunteer Ministers also provided relief in camps for the homeless and volunteer care in orphanages.  

• They ultimately put in place a permanent base to help in the reconstruction of the country, which continues to operate today.  There are now scores of local Volunteer Ministers groups and hundreds of thousands of local residents have attended Volunteer Ministers seminars to assist them in rebuilding their country. The base has also provided courses in communication skills to Haitian police, and Volunteer Minister disaster response training to NGOs and disaster response personnel.

• Volunteer Ministers joined the relief effort in the wake of the 8.8 Chile earthquake.

• In March, a team of VMs from Kenya traveled to help neighboring Uganda cope after record rains caused mudslides that buried entire villages. These VMs are Scout leaders who trained as disaster response specialists through the Volunteer Ministers website.  The volunteers assisted with search and rescue and provided relief to the displaced and injured living in tent camps.

• In the wake of floods following Tennessee thunderstorms, Volunteer Ministers from Nashville’s Church of Scientology teamed up with Hands-On Nashville to provide on-the-ground coordination for relief efforts.

• Guatemalan Volunteer Ministers provided assistance in shelters after a volcanic eruption in May and in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Agatha’s floods and landslides.

• Following record July floods, Volunteer Minister teams from Karachi escorted and cared for displaced children, provided much-needed rations and supplies, and airlifted emergency medical teams to bring antibiotics and fresh water to those afflicted.

• When New Zealand was hit with a 7.1 earthquake, Volunteer Ministers from Auckland ran relief logistics in partnership with the local Red Cross.

• In San Bruno, California, San Francisco-based Volunteer Ministers worked with civil defense personnel to help clean up debris and man emergency ration lines.

• In December, the largest fire in Israel’s history burned more than 7,000 acres of drought-stricken land on the outskirts of Haifa. Volunteer Ministers organized and distributed supplies and food and provided assists.

• At the end of 2010, the worst floods in 50 years hit the northeast province of Korat, Thailand. Scientology Volunteer Ministers climbed aboard military trucks and headed to the flooded areas, where they helped organize personnel and deliver much-needed supplies.

 

Christchurch, New Zealand — February 2011: Volunteer Ministers distributed 14 tons of food and supplies and helped more than 21,000 after the earthquake.

Japan, 2011: Hundreds of Volunteer Ministers from around the world traveled to Japan to help the country recover from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Japan,2011:Hundreds of Volunteer Ministers on the ground in the tsunami zone have been working in evacuation centers and shelters providing assists and helping people in every imaginable way.

Japan—March 2011: Scientology Volunteer Minister confronts the task at hand after the tsunami.

Birmingham, Alabama—April 2011:Volunteer Ministers help Alabama residents locate their possessions and clean up their neighborhoods after devastating tornadoes leveled entire sections of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.

Joplin, Missouri—May 2011: a three-quarter mile wide tornado struck the city of Joplin, Missouri, literally leveling it. Volunteer Ministers from St. Louis and Kansas City provided assists and helped residents recover cherished possessions from the wreckage.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers who served at Ground Zero in the months following 9/11 set a standard for disaster response and inspired a movement that carried forward for the past decade.  Here is an overview of the work of Scientology Volunteer Ministers so far in 2011.

• After years of devastating drought in Queensland, Australia, torrential rains brought the worst floods in over 30 years, swamping 20,000 homes across the city.  Volunteer Ministers cleaned out sludge-filled homes, unblocked key areas obstructed by debris and mud, and gave assists to exhausted relief workers.

• When a 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, 10 kilometers from city center, Volunteer Ministers were on the ground within 48 hours helping in the search and rescue effort, distributing supplies, delivering supplies door-to-door. 

• In March, when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Japan unleashed a 30-foot tsunami, the first team of Volunteer Ministers left for the disaster zone from Tokyo within 24 hours.  The Church of Scientology flew in a highly specialized VM-trained search and rescue team from Mexico known as Los Topos.  Despite concern over radiation levels from damaged nuclear power plants, Japanese Volunteer Ministers were joined by teams from seven countries who brought emergency equipment, medical supplies, food and tents. Hundreds of Volunteer Ministers on the ground in the tsunami zone have worked in evacuation centers and shelters, ever since, providing assists and helping people in every imaginable way. They even organized the donation of a fleet of bicycles so junior high school students could to deliver food and supplies to elderly neighbors stranded in their homes.

• At the end of April, a series of tornados swept through several U.S. states in the South, Midwest and East—in Alabama, 150 tornados touched down over a 24-hour period.  Four VM teams drove to the worst hit locations. Taking part in the massive cleanup operation, they went house to house to provide whatever was needed.

• On May 22, a three-quarter mile wide tornado struck the city of Joplin, Missouri, literally leveling it.  Volunteer Ministers from St. Louis and Kansas City provided assists and helped residents recover cherished possessions from the wreckage.

The Scientology Volunteer Minister program was initiated by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1976.   And through the course of providing disaster relief in just the past 10 years, Scientology Volunteer Ministers have trained and partnered with more than 1,100 organizations, including the Red Cross, FEMA, National Guard, Salvation Army, Mexico’s International Rescue Brigade, Boy Scouts and hundreds of local, regional and national groups and organizations, giving freely of their skills, their care and compassion. Today there are hundreds of thousands of people trained in the skills of a Volunteer Minister across 185 nations. For more information on Scientology Volunteer Ministers visitwww.volunteerminister.org.