Tennessee United for Human Rights Commemorates Juneteenth with Virtual Messages

 

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. This year, Tennessee United for Human Rights observed the day with special messages online.

According to juneteenth.com, the Juneteenth celebrations date back to 1865, and it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863.

Today, Juneteenth is celebrated in African American communities across the country, and is now a federally recognized national holiday. In Nashville, the Music City Freedom Festival commemorated the occasion at Hadley Park. For those still avoiding large crowds due to COVID-19, Tennessee United for Human Rights (TnUHR) shared virtual messages that day about the holiday and basic human rights.

 

TnUHR was formed as a nonprofit public benefit corporation in 2015 to educate Tennesseans on the basic principles and foundations of human rights. It is the local chapter of United for Human Rights, an international, not-for-profit organization dedicated to implementing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its membership is comprised of individuals, educators and groups throughout the world who actively forward the knowledge and protection of human rights by and for all mankind.

 

United for Human Rights was founded on the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first such document ever ratified by the community of nations. Then as now, continued worldwide human rights abuses violate the spirit, intent and articles of this charter. United for Human Rights is committed to advancing human rights through education. An understanding of the 30 rights enshrined in the document is the first step to bringing about their broad implementation.

 

For more information about Juneteenth and the celebrations around the country, visit www.juneteenth.com.

Drug-Free Tennessee Re-Invigorates Volunteers on International Day Against Drug Abuse

 

Drug-Free Tennessee has a mission to educate people on the dangers of drug abuse.

 

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in Tennessee, drug overdose deaths involving opioids totaled 1,307 in 2018 (a rate of 19.9). Deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone (mainly fentanyl and fentanyl analogs) increased from 590 (a rate of 9.3) in 2017 to 827 (a rate of 12.8) in 2018.

 

Drug-Free Tennessee has long warned youth and adults alike on the dangers of drug abuse. During the summer, DFT is reminding parents to help their kids with drug-free activities so they stay safe and healthy.

 

There are infinite ideas for safe, healthy activities kids can do during summer from sports, swimming, biking, attending or hosting cookouts, hiking, and more. Some ideas can be found at kidshealth.org, including a breakdown for interests by grade level.

 

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking occurs on June 26 each year and was created by the UN General Assembly in December 1987 to encourage all sectors of society to work together to tackle drug abuse and addiction.

 

Drug-Free Tennessee has hosted virtual resources throughout 2020 at drugfreetn.org and has continued this year with audio-visual messages and videos aimed at helping people steer clear of drug abuse and addiction. With restrictions lifted across Tennessee, volunteers are eager to get the truth directly to people once again with the Truth About Drugs booklets and will be distributing these in observance of the international holiday.

 

The organization has also long offered virtual learning resources and free materials to all educators wanting to help people learn the truth about drugs. Resources are available free of charge through drugfreeworld.org, including downloadable Truth About Drugs booklet, which cover all basic side effects of drugs, common street names, and how to recognize when you are being persuaded by a dealer. DFT also has a range of award winning Public Service Announcements and an award winning feature length documentary detailing the dangers of drugs and addiction. To learn more or to order booklets or view the videos, visit drugfreetn.org and drugfreeworld.org.

Drug-Free Tennessee Observes International Day Against Drug Abuse Virtually

 

Drug-Free Tennessee has a mission to educate people on the dangers of drug abuse.

 

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration interviewed more than 230,000 young adults from 2002 to 2012. It found that on an average June or July day, more than 11,000 teens try alcohol for the first time, while first-time alcohol use during the rest of the year is about 5,000-8,000.

 

Drug-Free Tennessee has long warned youth and adults alike on the dangers of drug abuse, including alcohol abuse. During the summer, DFT is reminding parents to help their kids with drug-free activities so they stay safe and healthy.

 

There are infinite ideas for safe, healthy activities kids can do during summer from sports, swimming, biking, attending or hosting cookouts, hiking, and more. Some ideas can be found at kidshealth.org, including a breakdown for interests by grade level.

 

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking occurs on June 26 each year and was created by the UN General Assembly in December 1987 to encourage all sectors of society to work together to tackle drug abuse and addiction.

 

Drug-Free Tennessee has hosted virtual resources throughout 2020 at drugfreetn.org and has continued this year with audio-visual messages and videos aimed at helping people steer clear of drug abuse and addiction. The organization has also long offered virtual learning resources and free materials to all educators wanting to help people learn the truth about drugs. Resources are available free of charge through drugfreeworld.org.

 

Drug-Free Tennessee distributes the Truth About Drugs booklet, which cover all basic side effects of drugs, common street names, and how to recognize when you are being persuaded by a dealer. DFT also has a range of award winning Public Service Announcements and an award winning feature length documentary detailing the dangers of drugs and addiction. To learn more or to order booklets or view the videos, visit drugfreetn.org and drugfreeworld.org.

Church of Scientology Nashville Inspires New Hope for Return to In-Person Services

 

The Church of Scientology Nashville is inspiring other churches across the city with effective measures to help return to in-person services safely.

With more than 853,000 cases of COVID-19 in Tennessee, and 12,400 deaths, many church leaders were reluctant to resume in-person worship services, even with restrictions lifting across the state. The Church of Scientology Nashville is inspiring other faith leaders with safe return methods involving deep sanitization of church spaces so any trace of the COVID-19 virus is vanquished.

 

The Church of Scientology’s Volunteer Ministers have taken part in an initiative designed to keep communities safe while cities and states reopen. They distributed over 15,000 “Stay Well” booklets to local stores, restaurants, grocery stores, clinics, hospitals and homes in the Nashville area. And now, Volunteer Ministers are helping to sanitize places of worship as they prepare for in-person services again.

 

One Volunteer Minister explained that they are armed with DECON 7, the most effective decontamination substance. “We decontaminate these buildings at our own expense,” she says. They follow it up with hygiene education to ensure the spaces they sanitize are kept clean and germ-free.

 

The education is available online at the How to Stay Well Prevention Center on the Scientology website, which makes booklets and other prevention materials available, free of charge. The booklets can be read on the website or downloaded. More than a dozen brief videos illustrate the key information, making it easy to understand what a virus is, how it spreads, and the actions anyone can take to protect themselves and their families. 

 

Worldwide distribution of these booklets began in May 2020 in communities around Scientology Churches and Missions across the globe. The Church of Scientology International Dissemination and Distribution Center made this possible by printing and shipping 5 million copies of Stay Well booklets.

 

The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. It constitutes one of the largest and most visible international independent relief forces. The 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.”

 

For more information or to learn more, visit Scientology.org/StayWell.

 

The Way to Happiness Association Spreads Seeds of Hope Online

Each year 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are dumped into US water, according to Neil B. Chambers in his report "How Infastructure Makes Water Work for Us." And the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has estimated that 30% of Tennessee’s streams are of such poor water quality that they can’t support healthy fish and aquatic wildlife, and nearly 40% are not fit for human recreation.

 

That is why The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee (TWTH-TN) wants people to become more aware and seek out solutions to help the environment. TWTH-TN was formed around the concepts presented in the book of the same name by humanitarian and author L. Ron Hubbard, and reminded us on World Environment Day to safeguard and improve our environments with virtual messages on this theme.

 

World Environment Day occurs each year on the fifth of June and is the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of the environment. This year the theme was Ecosystem Restoration.

 

The Way to Happiness is filled with twenty-one precepts based on the fact that one’s survival depends on the survival of others. One of these precepts is “Safeguard and Improve the Environment,” in which Mr. Hubbard wrote: “Man has gotten up to the potential of destroying the planet. He must be pushed on up to the capability and actions of saving it. It is, after all, what we’re standing on.”

 

According to unep.org, World Environment Day “…has grown to be a broad, global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in over 100 countries. It also serves as the ‘people’s day’ for doing something positive for the environment, galvanizing individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet.”

 

The Way to Happiness Association wants to bring people together who care, so they can connect and do bigger things. The messages shared online from The Way to Happiness Association can be found here: facebook.com/twthtn. For more information on The Way to Happiness Association, visit twthtn.org.

 

 

Nashville Religion Communicators to Hear about Resilience

 

The Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) meets monthly to talk about topics of interest and hear from professionals in religious communications.  

 

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) is an interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and electronic communication, marketing and public relations. The Nashville Chapter meets monthly at rotating locations to learn about other faith traditions, learn from fellow communicators and gain professional development opportunities.

 

The July meeting will feature a discussion on resilience, led by a prominent local United Methodist pastor. This is a perfect time for discussing such a topic, as many people return to more in person functions after the lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions.  “As a community, we are recovering, so what more perfect topic could we have for our July meeting than resilience? This will be a great meeting, and at the best time,” says Julie Brinker, communications coordinator for the Nashville RCC chapter and community relations director for the Church of Scientology Nashville.

 

The RCC has members from every faith group and walk of life including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, Sikhs, Hindus and more. The RCC, founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, advertising and development.

 

The RCC provides opportunities for communicators to learn from each other. Together, RCC members promote excellence in the communication of faith and values in the public arena. For more information about the Religion Communicators Council, visit religioncommunicators.org/nashville-chapter.

 

Nashville Religion Communicators Dive Into Deep Discussions

 

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) is an interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and electronic communication, marketing and public relations. The Nashville Chapter meets monthly at rotating locations to learn about other faith traditions, learn from fellow communicators and gain professional development opportunities.

 

The June meeting was a daybreak discussion held virtually. Nashville has now lifted all COVID-19 restrictions, but many are still cautious about returning to in-person.  DayBreak Discussions are when Nashville RCC brings together members along with the broader community for organic conversations about worldly topics. The June meeting was led by Nashville Chapter President, Rev. Brian Fesler, who is also Pastor of the Church of Scientology.

 

RCC members dove into the conversation around how they would take a message given to them that they would need to prepare for their audience, even if it was something contentious or that they personally disagreed with.

 

The RCC has members from every faith group and walk of life including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, Sikhs, Hindus and more. The RCC, founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, advertising and development.

 

The RCC provides opportunities for communicators to learn from each other. Together, RCC members promote excellence in the communication of faith and values in the public arena. For more information about the Religion Communicators Council, visit religioncommunicators.org/nashville-chapter.