Drug-Free Tennessee Plans Virtual Awareness Campaign for World Health Day 2021

 

Drug-Free Tennessee is planning a virtual awareness campaign for World Health Day this April 2021.

 

In past years, Drug-Free Tennessee (DFT) has focused a World Health Day event around different topics with one standing out above others: Shape Up and Be Happy. This has long been the group’s campaign for the Day with organizations participating to help residents get into a healthy mindset each April.

 

DFT works closely with the Church of Scientology Nashville to host these events each year. The 2020 event was naturally canceled due to COVID-19, and for 2021, the group plans to take it virtual, sharing resources all day on April 7^th.

 

Drug-Free Tennessee provides education on the truth about drugs, which is of course its mission, and ties right into healthy living. Spokesperson for the group, Julie Brinker said, “You can’t have overall health and wellness with harmful street drugs in your system, and Drug-Free Tennessee is working hard to spread that message around the state.” Other educational initiatives for a healthy lifestyle will be shared virtually as well, including tips for eating and exercising.

 

This is the sixth year Drug-Free Tennessee (DFT) has worked with the community to celebrate World Health Day.  DFT is a chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW), which has as its mission to educate people about the dangerous effects of drugs so they understand and can make informed choices on the subject. The Tennessee chapter provides educational materials free of charge to anyone working on drug prevention, and observes World Health Day as a vital point of awareness on the hazards of illegal and dangerous drugs.

 

For more information on the Drug-Free Tennessee, visit drugfreetn.org. For more on the Church of Scientology or its programs, visit scientology-ccnashville.org.

 

Church of Scientology Nashville Continues to Encourage Safety Measures Against COVID-19

 

The Churches of Scientology Disaster Response are known for helping communities during times of emergency.

 

Senior members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team are concerned that state governments are relaxing pandemic restrictions too early, as vaccine rollouts race against rapidly spreading coronavirus variants. It is with this in mind that the Nashville Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers are encouraging friends and neighbors to keep in safety protocols such as wearing a face mask and gloves when outside the home.

 

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.

 

Based on the principle that an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure, they dressed in their signature yellow jackets and caps and additional protective gear and loaded up with sets of three booklets: How to Keep Yourself & Others Well, How to Protect Yourself & Others with a Mask & Gloves and How to Prevent the Spread of Illness with Isolation.

 

Scientology Volunteer Ministers are making these booklets available across Nashville, and in communities around the world in 21 languages. They are even downloadable from scientology.org/staywell.

 

Nashville and Tennessee were not the worst hit by the pandemic, but still have had more than 790,000 cases in Tennessee, and 90,000 in the Nashville area and counting. “We’ve stepped up to take this pandemic down,” said one of the Volunteer Ministers. “People have been so grateful for the booklets.”

 

Each booklet has a QR code on the back that goes to the How to Stay Well Prevention Center on the Scientology website, which makes these 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.

 

Nashville Religion Communicators to Attend National Convention in April

 

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 to learn about other faith traditions, learn from fellow communicators and gain professional development opportunities.

 

The April meeting will not take place but will be replaced with Nashville RCC members attending the virtual National Convention.

 

The Religion Communicators Convention 2021 has the theme “Opening New Portals, Building Community” and takes place virtually from April 6–9, 2021.

 

“Opening New Portals, Building Community is designed to help communicators—reporters, editors, publishers, writers, marketers, freelancers, videographers, photographers, graphic designers and more—who work for the religious and mainstream media, denominations, religious and other organizations and nonprofits and more to be supported and encouraged as people of faith and to network and develop and improve their skills,” according to religioncommunicators.org/convention.

 

Nearly 3 dozen presenters will be part of the convention with topics such as “New Portals to Understanding the Soul: Communicating Spirituality and Faith After Covid,” “The Theology of Podcasting,” and “Including Underrepresented Voices in the Media.”

 

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.

 

Drug-Free Tennessee Encouraged Sober St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations

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

 

WalletHub says that St. Patrick’s Day is the third-biggest drinking holiday in the United States. In 2018, 73 people died in drunk driving accidents on St. Patrick’s Day and according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 38 percent of drivers killed in St. Patrick’s Day accidents had a blood-alcohol level over .08.

 

Drug-Free Tennessee (DFT) has long warned youth and adults alike on the dangers of drug abuse, including alcohol abuse. For the 2021 St. Patrick’s Day celebration, the group encouraged folks to celebrate sober with family-friendly festivities.

 

On its Facebook page, DFT shared a chapter from the documentary The Truth About Drugs: Real People, Real Stories on “The Truth About Alcohol,” with encouraging messages about other ways to celebrate the holiday.

 

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.

The Way to Happiness Association Celebrates Youth on World Happiness Day

 

The Way to Happiness Association is observing World Happiness Day (March 20) with a special virtual presentation.

 

World Happiness Day occurs each year on March 20^th and is celebrated by the United Nations. According to un.org, “Since 2013, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness as a way to recognize the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world…The United Nations invites each person of any age, plus every classroom, business and government to join in celebration of the International Day of Happiness.”

 

In past years, The Way to Happiness Association of Tennessee has commemorated the day by hearing directly from young people about how to make the world a better place. It was dubbed “Youth Voices: Creating a Brighter Future,” and included words from young people, ages ranging from five to thirteen years old, who spoke about how they are making a brighter future.

 

The Way to Happiness Association wants this event to always bring people together who care, so they can connect and do bigger things. The Way to Happiness Association was formed around the book The Way To Happiness, written by humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.

 

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 “Love and Help Children,” which showcases how children are the future.

 

This year’s event will be virtual, with messages shared online from The Way to Happiness Association. For more information on The Way to Happiness Association, its upcoming events or if you would like to participate, visit twthtn.org.

 

 

Church of Scientology Nashville Commemorates World Civil Defense Day Virtually

 

The Church of Scientology Nashville observes World Civil Defense Day each year.

 

The Church of Scientology Nashville regularly hosts events to bring attention to vitally important issues affecting the community. With COVID-19 came a halt to gatherings, so church members decided to move things into the virtual realm.

 

This was how the church observed World Civil Defense Day this year, with information distributed online to help bring awareness to the day.

 

World Civil Defense Day, which was created by decision of the International Civil Defense Organization (ICDO) General Assembly in 1990, and is celebrated every year on the 1st of March. According to ICDO, “This Day… has two main purposes: that of bringing to the attention of the world public the vital importance of Civil Protection and of raising awareness of the preparedness for, and prevention and self-protection measures in the event of accidents or disasters; and that of paying tribute to the efforts, sacrifices and accomplishments of all the national services responsible for the fight against disasters.”

 

Julie Brinker, who oversees community affairs for the Nashville Church of Scientology, explains how church members become involved during times of disaster. “We have a program called Volunteer Ministers. Anyone of any culture or creed may train as a Volunteer Minister and use these tools to help their families and communities, and all are welcome to do so,” she said. Brinker said volunteerministers.org contains resources one would need to become trained in this technology.  

 

Equipped with effective technology to resolve virtually any difficulty, Volunteer Ministers live by the motto: “No matter the problem, something can be done about it.” Transcending all ethnic, cultural and religious boundaries, the Volunteer Ministers program is there for anyone in need of help.

 

In creating the Volunteer Ministers program, L. Ron Hubbard wrote, “If one does not like the crime, cruelty, injustice and violence of this society, he can do something about it. He can become a Volunteer Minister and help civilize it, bring it conscience and kindness and love and freedom from travail by instilling into it trust, decency, honesty and tolerance.”

 

To learn more about the Scientology Volunteer Minsiters, visit scientology-ccnashville.org. To learn more about World Civil Defense Day, visit icdo.org.

 

Nashville Religion Communicators Learn from Seasoned Professional About Broadcasting in Ministry

 

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.

 

In March, RCC members were excited to hear from a seasoned professional who has decades of experience in the field of broadcasting and how one can use this to spread the good word. Guest speaker Jeffrey Anderson, who has been in international Christian broadcasting since 1982 spoke about his experiences and the various data he’s accumulated on how to reach people where they are at, the conversation was called Pivoting in a World-Wide Crisis - The Need for Readiness, Yet Expecting the Unexpected.

 

Anderson was with The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc. for 12 years, including a position as Programming and Operations Manager of Middle East Television for five years. Since 1994, he has had a consulting business - Jeffrey P. Anderson and Associates: International Television Start-Ups, Programming, and Productions. His clients have been worldwide, but especially in Asia. Mr. Anderson, his wife Beverly, and two children, were Presbyterian missionaries to Japan in the latter part of the 1980s. Between 1993 and 2015, the Andersons were involved in a total of 25 summer mission trips among the four of them. Since 2016, Mr. Anderson and his wife have been missionaries with Far East Broadcasting Company.

 

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.