In Auckland, New Zealand, Church volunteers run a literacy programme for youth at risk. The goal of the programme is to assist young people who are unemployed or involved with drugs and crime to learn to read. Many who have done the programme have expressed an interest in returning to school to complete their education, while others have found jobs and become productive members of the community.

At Saint Hill in Sussex, site of the Church of Scientology’s headquarters in the United Kingdom, Scientologists hold annual fétes attended by some 2,000 people each year, to support charity organizations such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institute and the Youth Trust, a national organization working to keep children off drugs. British Scientologists also support the community activities of many other groups and organizations.

These Charity Concerts provide the community with a chance to experience world-class entertainment while donating to important local causes.

One group participates every year in an annual fund-raising event which supports a national society’s Teenage Cancer Trust. Another group took part in a 1997 cycling marathon to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation. In June 2002, the Church hosted a special ball to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee Anniversary.

Church volunteers also support amateur athletic events by caring for participants who may be physically exhausted or in physical pain, such as providing assists when asked, such as the help provided to runners at the Marathons and other long-distance races held in Portland, Oregon; Boston, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California, and Clearwater, Florida.

Good Cheer for the Holidays

Honoring a long tradition of helping the needy, and particularly children, over the Christmas holidays, Scientologists help spread Christmas goodwill in cities all over the world. From California to New York, Scientologists in the United States collect food and gifts to cheer the holidays of those in need.

Every year for the past ten years, the Church of Scientology’s Celebrity Centre International has sponsored an annual fund-raising event for the Los Angeles Police Activities League at Christmas. Entitled Christmas Stories, the event is a variety show put on by celebrity Scientologists and other entertainers. It has raised more than $120,000 for the Los Angeles Police Activities League, over the last 10 years.