Young artists from the “Warm Heart” Association surprise Volunteer Ministers with unforgettable artwork.

When Volunteer Ministers from the Church of Scientology Budapest received a request for help on their Facebook, they were not prepared for the reception they experienced. 

 

Since the pandemic began, the Volunteer Ministers (VMs) have been raising donations and working with other philanthropic organizations to provide food, sanitation supplies—whatever is needed—to help people make it through these challenging times. 

The request came from a group called “Meleg Szív Egyesület” which translates as “Warm Heart Association.” The group organizes afterschool art classes and free meals for underserved children, most of them from marginalized Roma families. Many of them enroll in the program as a solution to their hunger. 

When the Warm Heart Association asked for assistance, the Volunteer Ministers, with the help of the TündérPakk Foundation, arrived with boxes and packages of food and supplies. 

 

The Volunteer Ministers sprang into action, contacting a foundation called TündérPakk (”Fairy Package” in English). The charity is run by two mothers who collect donations and make them available to those in need. 

The Volunteer Ministers loaded their bright yellow van with TündérPakk donations of canned goods, staples and fresh fruit. Added to that were paper goods and cleaning and hygiene supplies.

As the volunteers unpacked the van at the afterschool program, the children took off and a short while later thanked the VMs by presenting them with two drawings that brought tears to the volunteers' eyes.

 

 

Over the past month, COVID-19 cases have spiked in Hungary. Now more than ever, prevention is vital.

In addition to providing food and supplies, Volunteer Ministers ensure communities know how to protect themselves from the virus. As soon as the pandemic began, the most effective measures were researched for ensuring the safety of Scientology staff and parishioners, and these were implemented internationally as protocols under the direction of Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige.

To make this prevention information broadly available, the Church of Scientology created more than a dozen videos and three educational 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. These are all available in Hungarian and 20 additional languages on the How to Stay Well Prevention Resource Center on the Scientology website.

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers of Hungary are headquartered at the Church of Scientology Budapest, whose new home was dedicated in 2016 by Mr. Miscavige. The Church of Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.