Tag: Religion and Churches

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 24, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Even before Barbie and Ken entered the "real world," rollerblading in their dayglo outfits along its three-mile coastline, Venice Beach was a world-famous, iconic, great place to have some fun. But that wasn't the only reason the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre and its Hollywood Village Team selected Venice Beach for their April cleanup and their annual Earth Day activity.

ATLANTA, Ga., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 15, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- This year's Rx and Illicit Drug Summit highlighted a grim fact of life: "Overdoses and deaths involving synthetic opioids have reached record rates, and every community across our nation is feeling the impact." According to the CDC, more than half of opioid overdose deaths in 10 states studied tested positive for fentanyl. It's time to slam the pedal down on prevention, says Foundation for a Drug-Free World.

NEW ORLEANS, La., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 10, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- United for Human Rights brought its youth-friendly human rights program to NSBA24 - National School Boards Association (NSBA) Conference for 2024 in New Orleans April 6 to 8. The purpose of NSBA is "to ensure each student everywhere has access to excellent and equitable public education governed by high-performing school board leaders and supported by the community." So how does human rights education relate to this endeavor?

WASHINGTON, D.C., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 10, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- L. Ron Hubbard joined the Boy Scouts in Tacoma, Washington, in 1923, in the early years of Scouting, a movement founded by Robert Baden-Powell in 1910. By the spring of 1924, Ron had not only earned an impressive 21 badges, he also led Washington, D.C., Troop 10 to victory in the Washington Post-sponsored Scout Advancement Competition and was one of four youths to represent Scouting at President Calvin Coolidge's Presidential Celebration of National Boys' Week. Five days later, two weeks after celebrating his 13th birthday, L. Ron Hubbard became the nation's youngest Eagle Scout.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 9, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- L. Ron Hubbard Life Exhibition in Hollywood, California, proudly announces a new permanent display featuring the royal bestowal of Datu and a Kris sword, presented by HRH Sultan Tomas Cabili Jr. and HRH Sultana Remedios Pastor of Mindanao, Philippines, on the anniversary of Mr. Hubbard's birthday.

AUSTIN, Texas, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 4, 2024, (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- SXSW EDU is an educator conference in Austin, Texas, "designed for the brightest minds in education to change the future of teaching and learning." United for Human Rights set up a booth at the conference, where human rights was a recurring topic in presentations, conferences and workshops. Educators, entrepreneurs, and members of civil society from across the U.S. around the globe visited the booth to learn about the program.

EAST GRINSTEAD, UK and LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 28, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Despite forecasters predicting rain, young Scientologists gathered at Saint Hill in East Grinstead, slipped on their signature teal Foundation for a Drug-Free World T-shirts over hoodies, unfurled their "brollies," and took off for the nearby town of Crawley to share the truth about drugs with local families. They handed out youth-friendly Truth About Drugs booklets to help other kids make the self-determined decision to live drug-free.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 23, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- As part of a toy giveaway in Hollywood for underserved youth, organized by the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre in conjunction with LAPD Hollywood youth development programs, Scientologist and legendary skateboarder Steve Berra donated signature skateboards, hoodies, and Berra's Berrics Cariuma CATIBA Pro skate shoes. And what could be more appropriate in a town known as the birthplace of modern skateboarding.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 16, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Born in Iraq in 1974, Haetham Abdul-Razaq was 6 when war broke out between his country and Iran. "One common and fundamental principle is crucial to the well-being and prosperity of people, as well as the protection of their dignity, differences and ability," Abdul-Razaq said in an interview with United for Human Rights.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 29, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Firefighters are in the business of saving lives. These are the men and women who provide fire prevention and rescue. They battle the blazes throughout the city and the notorious Los Angeles brushfires and wildfires. They are also the ambulance drivers, EMTs and paramedics who provide emergency medical response. And they do so day and night every day of the year. Hollywood Village is a partnership between the Church of Scientology, The Way to Happiness Foundation, the Los Angeles Police Department, local businesses, and numerous faith-based and neighborhood groups.

CUIABA, Brazil, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 22, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Growing up surrounded by gangs, crime, and violence that plagued his neighborhood in Cuiabá, Brazil, in the '80s and '90s, Diogenes Luiz de Oliveira tried to escape from that life by using and trafficking drugs. Now, he uses his own story and the drug education materials of Foundation for a Drug-Free World to help keep kids out of the trap that consumed and nearly destroyed his life.

WASHINGTON, D.C., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 13, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- "The challenges to religious freedom across the globe are structural, systemic, and deeply entrenched," said U.S. Secretary of State Mr. Antony Blinken in a statement January 4. "But with thoughtful, sustained commitment from those who are unwilling to accept hatred, intolerance, and persecution as the status quo we will one day see a world where all people live with dignity and equality." It is just such a sustained commitment that informed the annual IRF Summit January 30 and 31, 2024. The Church of Scientology supports and participates in the annual summit and programs that protect and advance this vital freedom for all.

TAMPA, Fla., and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 31, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and Florida is the third-busiest hub for child sex trafficking in the United States. Tampa-based activist Christopher King, United for Human Rights Florida Executive Director and Founder of the nonprofit The Gentlemen's Course, works to protect youth from being trafficked. How he came to take on this mission is documented in an episode of Voices for Humanity on the Scientology Network.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., and SEATTLE, Wash., Jan. 29, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Sean Burke's passion is helping others. A lifelong volunteer and a Scientologist since 1987, during the pandemic he worked with a nonprofit formed by top ICU doctors, sharing information on how to properly treat COVID in the hospital and at home. But this year, he decided to focus on another pandemic: The spiraling drug crisis that is affecting youth throughout America.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 25, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- When Scoutmaster Marcos Antonio Correia Santos Jr. Googled the question "Is there a way to happiness?" the answer not only changed his own life, it led to a new international movement within Scouting. At the celebration of the 39th anniversary of the International Association of Scientologists, Chief Marcos' story was presented as a stellar example of the impact of The Way to Happiness, the common-sense guide to better living written by L. Ron Hubbard.

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 24, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The mangled frame of a silver sedan gleams under the overhead lights in a local body shop, a testament to human capacity for error. Replacing crumpled fenders and shattered windshields is a body shop's stock in trade, but the owners know these broken cars aren't just metal and plastic. So when volunteers from Bridge Publications approached body shop owners and managers about displaying sets of The Truth About Drugs from the drug education initiative supported by the Church of Scientology, it not only piqued their interest, it gave them a way to save lives.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. and BUGARAMA, Rwanda, Jan. 23, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Rwanda evokes images of a tragic past marked by ethnic violence. But educator and human rights activist Ladislas Yassin Nkundabanyanga is determined to ensure a peaceful future for the country. He partners with Youth for Human Rights, an educational initiative supported by the Church of Scientology, to protect future generations and create a better life for all.

COMMERCE, Calif., Jan. 17, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Not only is the East Los Angeles crime rate higher than the U.S. average, the crimes are often drug-related. To help local vendors and residents cope with this problem, volunteers from Bridge Publications Inc., publisher of the nonfiction works of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, reached out to area food trucks and food stands this week to further extend their drug prevention campaign to the community.

PARIS, France, and LOS ANGELES, Calif., Jan. 13, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- It was in Paris at the Palais de Chaillot on December 10, 1948, that the General Assembly of the fledgling United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Youth for Human Rights, an initiative supported by the Church of Scientology, has as its mission to inspire people to become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace by educating them on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

COMMERCE, Calif., Jan. 10, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Volunteers from Bridge Publications Inc., publishers of L. Ron Hubbard's nonfiction works, have launched their drug education and prevention campaign for 2024. They are visiting shops and parks and sharing the drug education booklets of the Truth About Drugs campaign with anyone wishing to help take effective action against drug abuse and addiction.