Although the coronavirus put a crimp in the Jewish holiday celebration for many, Scientology Volunteers helped Tel Aviv's Welfare Department and a group of concerned Jaffa residents make sure that vulnerable members of the community weren’t sidelined by the pandemic.
When the Scientology Center received a call from the Municipal Welfare Department last week asking for help to distribute holiday baskets, they were happy to oblige. Traditional “mishloach manot,” gift baskets of food and drink, are a cherished tradition of Purim, the holiday celebrated this year from the evening of February 25 through the following day.
Members of Neveh Tamar, a seniors’ daycare center run by the Municipal Welfare Department, decided to purchase special food and sweets and create 56 baskets for its members who live alone and have no families to call them, visit or look after them. They wanted to make sure these friends would experience the joy of the holiday. The entire project was supervised by the Welfare Department and the Scientology Volunteers helped ensure all the baskets were delivered right on time,
“The elderly members were filled with gratitude,” said the manager of the center. “Needless to say, in these coronavirus days, they yearn for a warm, human touch and you answered this need.”
The Scientologists also helped the Welfare Department with two other projects—delivering gift packages to bereaved families and bringing tablet computers to elderly residents so they could then enjoy a holiday visit with their families over the internet.
This was all in addition to the work volunteers from the Scientology Center have taken on and continued each week since the pandemic began—food and supply deliveries and weekly phone calls to 200 elderly residents to ensure they are doing well and have what they need.
The volunteers are headquartered at the Center of Scientology Israel, dedicated in 2012 by Mr. David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion.
These volunteers are trained in the technology of the Volunteer Ministers program, a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.
A Volunteer Minister’s mandate is to be “a person who helps his fellow man on a volunteer basis by restoring purpose, truth and spiritual values to the lives of others.” Their creed: “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.”
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The Church of Scientology publishes this blog to help create a better understanding of the freedom of religion and belief and provide news on religious freedom and issues affecting this freedom around the world.
The Founder of the Scientology religion is L. Ron Hubbard and Mr. David Miscavige is the religion’s ecclesiastical leader.
For more information, visit the Scientology website or the Scientology TV network.
