March 1, 2002

CONTACT:
Linda Simmons Hight
Media Relations Director
Church of Scientology International
6331 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 1200
Los Angeles, CA 90028-6329
Phone (323) 960-3500
Fax (323) 960-3508
E-mail mediarelationsdir@scientology.net

SCIENTOLOGY VOLUNTEER MINISTERS CORPS 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF HELPING THOSE IN NEED
6,000 ENROLL IN VOLUNTEER MINISTER TRAINING PROGRAM AFTER 9/11
1,100 BILLBOARDS GO UP ACROSS COUNTRY TO PROVIDE 1-800 HELP LINE

In the 25th anniversary year of the Scientology Volunteer Minister Corps, more than 1,100 billboards have gone up in New York and 11 other U.S. cities to promote the Volunteer Minister credo—“Something CAN be done about it.” The billboards also provide the 1-800-HELP-4-YU hotline that connects callers wanting help with trained volunteers. The $1.1 million campaign has been funded by donations from church members who answered the wake-up call of September 11.

Since the program was launched in 1977, thousands of Scientologists have undergone the rigorous training program to become certified as a Volunteer Minister. September 11 brought renewed attention to the program, and more than 6,000 enrolled in the training program in the 90 days following the disaster, bringing the number of Volunteer Ministers to some 14,000 worldwide.

Veteran Scientology Volunteer Ministers are no strangers to helping in disasters. Eight hundred worked side by side at Ground Zero in New York, helping rescue workers deal with shock, exhaustion and pain. They were again on the front lines in December 2001 bringing the same assistance to some of the 20,000 firefighters in Australia battling the brush fires raging around Sydney.

Volunteer Ministers were already known for their service throughout the 1990s at other disasters where help was needed—the Los Angeles civil disorder in 1992 and the Northridge earthquake in 1994; in 1995, earthquakes in Kobe, Japan; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Sakhalin Island in Russia. And in every year throughout the decade, they provided assistance at tornados, hurricanes, floods and wars throughout the world.

Converging on a disaster site from many parts of the country or the world, the Volunteer Ministers quickly form efficient and organized teams capable of performing a wide variety of tasks—cooking and food service for rescue workers, debris cleanup, transport, locating and procuring needed materials and equipment, message and reunion services, blood drives, and dozens of other functions.

In addition to efficiently handling such practical matters, Volunteer Ministers provide services unique to Scientology—namely, the “assists” that help a rescue worker recover rapidly from shock, pain, grief and exhaustion and get back to the emergency matters at hand.

Says the Rev. John Carmichael of the New York Church of Scientology, “At Ground Zero we helped the firemen work through shock and grief to bring their attention back to their present environment which helped them recover rapidly from the physical and emotional toll of the intense and exhausting work. They were working nonstop, and the assists brought them enormous relief,” said the Rev. John Carmichael of the New York Church of Scientology.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers at Ground Zero won high praise from firemen, police, medical personnel and city officials for their contribution to the rescue efforts. The New York Times reported that the Scientologists were retained at Ground Zero after some other volunteer organizations had been asked to leave.

While thousands of Volunteer Ministers have answered the call and reported for service at disaster sites, thousands more carried on at home—assisting the neighbors with a teenager on drugs, counseling a co-worker with marital problems, comforting a grieving widow. Helping others to meet the daily challenges of life is the purpose of the Volunteer Minister Corps and more help than ever is being given as a result of the billboard campaign.

“Helping others in times of need has always been the role of religion,” said Church of Scientology International Vice President Janet Weiland. “Since September 11, thousands have joined veteran Volunteer Ministers offering practical help day in and day out. Volunteer Ministers are networked through the Internet, which makes it possible to respond rapidly to emergencies as well as to assist with regular ministerial needs in their own communities,” said Ms. Weiland.

In addition to New York, billboards have gone up in Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Clearwater, Florida. Billboards will also go up in Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, Miami and St. Louis.

The Scientology Volunteer Minister program was developed in the 1970s by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion, to enable individuals from all walks of life to provide practical assistance to help people deal with problems they encounter in their lives.

More information on the Volunteer Minister program is available at www.volunteerministers.org. Assistance from a Volunteer Minister may be requested by calling 1-800-HELP-4-YU.