Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Florida Offer Assistance With Cleaning Up After Irma

CLEARWATER, Fla., Sept. 14, 2017 -- On September 11^th, following Hurricane Irma’s swath of destruction through the Tampa Bay Area, Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology took to the streets to help clean up debris left in the wake of the storm. To facilitate bringing back ‘bright and beautiful’ Clearwater, the Volunteer Ministers have set up a hotline for residents and business owners who need assistance.

Volunteer Ministers help remove a fallen tree from a home in Clearwater’s Gateway neighborhood. The Volunteer Minister program is an outreach of the Church of Scientology. The program was founded by L. Ron Hubbard to combat the decline of religious influence in society and give individuals the tools to improve the condition of their families, neighborhood and friends.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c8a7c9b8-1563-4073-a5ae-00dde49d8957

“Volunteer Ministers go wherever needed and do whatever is needed,” said Glendy Goodsell, the Executive Director for the Tampa Bay Volunteer Ministers. “In Clearwater, we had a lot of damage from fallen trees and branches and we have been helping to haul that away – this area was very lucky. We want to help where we can.”

This has included clearing tress that had fallen on roofs, temporarily patching roofs, removing large tree limbs from driveways and setting yards to rights and talking to people who were traumatized by the storm.

“Our motto is ‘Something Can Be Done About it’. After a disaster, one can feel like nothing can be done, but it can be,” said Goodsell.

By Thursday morning the 14th, 61 projects have been completed – these have ranged from getting a downed tree off of a roof, to patching roofs to simply clearing debris from the yard of an elderly veteran. More than forty-four tons of refuse has been hauled away by over 2,400 Volunteer Ministers.

A hotline has been established, and is manned by volunteers who will assess needs and then send out a team of people to help.

One volunteer brought ice to a woman who needed to keep her insulin cool. The woman told her “I have called the Red Cross and I have called other agencies, but you are the first group to come out here, thank you.”

If you need assistance with debris removal following Hurricane Irma, please call the Volunteer Ministers Center in Clearwater at 727-467-6965.

ABOUT THE VOLUNTEER MINISTERS: The Volunteer Minister (VM) program was launched more than thirty years ago, in response to an appeal by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. Volunteer Ministers have, since 9/11, provided disaster relief assistance at every major disaster, including the earthquake in Haiti and Hurricanes Harvey, Katrina and Ivan.

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Contact: Lisa Mansell
727-467-6860