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Contents

Clearwater Special Edition

A Force to Be Reckoned With

Something changed in Florida when Hurricane Irma walloped the state in September. In the Tampa Bay area, squads of first responders in yellow T-shirts fanned out to board up Clearwater’s downtown retailers; provide shelter, food and water; and to fix up, clean up and cheer up the city after the storm. Meet the Scientology Volunteer Ministers.

Cover Story

In The Eye of the Storm

Cover Story

An Army Assembles

Cover Story

Hot Meals for All

International

A History of Helping

Contents

Editorial

Something CAN Be Done About It

“Something Can be done about it!” is the motto of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers. It is used to rally troops or galvanize a group to overcome obstacles. It can be deployed to inspire a community to take action when faced with a devastating catastrophe.

At a Glance

News Briefs

City sues maker of OxyContin; warming trend toward religion in America; seeking refuge in Uganda; human rights crisis in Myanmar; education, health and more …

Cover Story

In The Eye of the Storm

Damage control, shelters, cleanup—Scientology Volunteer Ministers helped everywhere.

Clearing Up Downtown

Scientology Volunteer Minister teams took on Clearwater’s downtown public facilities—City Hall, the County office complex and surrounding streets.

Ongoing Relief Efforts

Hurricane Harvey, Rockport, Texas

That was the first report out of Rockport, Texas, from the Scientology Volunteer Minister relief team in the coastal town hardest hit by Hurricane Harvey.

Hurricane Maria, Dominica

Lack of fresh running water and electricity. Impassable roads. Phones and internet signals down. Thirty dead, 80 percent of the buildings damaged or destroyed.

Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico

When Hurricane Irma skirted Puerto Rico on September 7, it killed three and plunged 1 million people into darkness, but it saved the brunt of its force for other islands.

Central Mexico Earthquake

September 19 lives in infamy in Mexico. On that date in 1985, 10,000 died in the 8.0 Mexico City earthquake.

International

A History of Helping

Among the first to arrive and the last to leave, Scientology Volunteer Ministers circle the globe helping at an average of 15 major disaster sites a year since 2001.

Banda Aceh, Indonesia Tsunami

An unfortunate byproduct of an earthquake in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra, the late December tsunami decimated 14&nsp;countries, slamming the west and north coasts of Banda Aceh the hardest.

Gulf Coast Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

For 30 days beginning August 28, 2005, two of the deadliest hurricanes in history roared out of the Bahamas, one after the other, to ravage the lives, possessions and dreams of millions of Americans living along the Gulf of Mexico from Central Florida to Texas.

Pakistan Indus River Flood

An extremely heavyweight monsoon season in the summer of 2010 led to Pakistan’s worst natural disaster and one that made it nearly impossible for outside help to reach the worst-hit areas.

Haiti Earthquake

The poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where 80 percent of the population lives in poverty and close to 775 humans are crammed in to every square mile, is also one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world.

Community

Reaching Out Across Pinellas

Pinellas citizens and nonprofits partnering with community centers to make a safer place for all.

Community

Uplifting Spirits

Scientology Volunteer Ministers, along with other first responders, toiled without pause to get Clearwater working again.

L. Ron Hubbard essay

Religious Influence in Society

“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