COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
SOMETHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT
BRINGING HELP TO ALL
VOLUNTEER MINISTERS also REACH into LOCAL COMMUNITIES TRAINING THOUSANDS and BRINGING POSITIVE change to TOWNS & CITIES around the WORLD.
With the purpose to assist and empower others in disaster situations and in everyday life, Volunteer Minister Cavalcades take their help into major cities and remote communities throughout the world.
They traverse major industrial crossroads of the world—London, Berlin, New York, Los Angeles and Melbourne—as well as the Amazon Basin, Western and Central Africa, India, Siberia, South America, the Pacific Islands and the Outback of Australia. Volunteer Minister Cavalcades bring assistance and training to thousands each year.
National leaders, mayors, legislators and officials welcome the Cavalcades, often presiding at ribbon-cutting ceremonies to open the Volunteer Minister distinctive yellow tents that serve as the center of aid operations while in the community.
Inside the tents, Volunteer Ministers provide one-on-one assistance to address issues an individual may be facing, from family conflicts and workplace challenges to learning difficulties. Informational displays clearly show visitors that solutions are possible, and seminars are available for anyone to learn how to apply these answers to their personal, professional and civic life and help others do the same.
A notable example of the lasting effects of a Cavalcade is the Trans-Siberian Goodwill Tour undertaken by Volunteer Ministers to bring help to communities across the Russian Federation. The team of 20 Volunteer Ministers began their humanitarian journey at the Yaroslavskiy rail station in Moscow in August 2006 and concluded four years and 10 time zones later at Vladivostok on the Pacific coast.
Providing services in all major cities across the region, the Volunteer Ministers delivered seminars and lectures to individuals, families, groups and whole communities to help them resolve day-to-day conflicts and difficulties. They helped thousands of people of all ages increase personal goal attainment, reconcile with marital partners, restore communication between parents and their children, and resolve workplace problems and disputes.
With 1,100 seminars delivered to the staffs of 450 organizations, they further helped individuals and communities address drug and alcohol abuse, crime and immorality, illiteracy and deficient education.
Local Volunteer Minister groups were formed in all 16 cities visited by the Goodwill Tour and the newly trained volunteers, in turn, branched out to help their own families, neighbors and communities. All told, an estimated 6 million people were helped by the Goodwill Tour.
This is but a sampling of responses: “We thank the Volunteer Ministers—good and responsible people who always come to help. Our great thanks to the humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard, a man who considered it the highest pleasure to help others.”
“My great thanks to the Volunteer Ministers who with such enthusiasm and diligence delivered 10 seminars and many consultations for our group and helped us greatly.”
“My colleagues and I found answers to resolve problems. The seminars improved our communication and understanding and we are stronger as a team. I see our group changing right before my eyes.”
“The professionalism and competence of the Volunteer Ministers made it possible for us to gain the knowledge they have and is very helpful in the jobs and personal lives of everyone who attended the seminars.”
“The Volunteer Ministers helped us learn how to communicate correctly and how to understand our families and associates. The seminars were given with such enthusiasm and inspired us to self-improvement. From deep in our hearts we thank you.”
Similar results are reported anywhere Volunteer Ministers serve.
■ In Milan, Italy, Volunteer Ministers deliver seminars to at-risk youth who come under the influence of gangs, resulting in young people gaining self-confidence and choosing to reject gang life and violence.
■ In Pakistan, at the request of civic leaders, Volunteers have operated free schools for underprivileged children, teaching more than 800 students in one year and achieving a significant increase in literacy levels.
■ In Colombia, Volunteer Ministers have established a system to organize and utilize manpower and materiel to help residents recover their homes and property in the aftermath of recurring tropical storms.
■ In the United States and Canada, the yellow tents of the Volunteer Ministers offer one-on-one help at hundreds of sports events, county and regional fairs, and other public gatherings.
