More than 100 Lives Saved in Clearwater Despite Late-Winter Storm

Driving rain did not deter the 39 volunteers who stepped up and donated blood at the One Blood/ Volunteer Minister Blood Drive this week in Clearwater. End Quote

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL (1888PressRelease) March 06, 2015 - This past weekend, One Blood and the Church of Scientology of Tampa's Volunteer Ministers collected donations that could save the lives of more than 100 people.

This was in the middle of a late-winter storm that dumped more than an inch of rain in one of Florida's sunniest cities.

"The donors were really dedicated," said Nicole Biancolini, who helped facilitate the donation drive from the Church of Scientology. "They were running through the rain, arriving at our tent, ready to go. Some people even brought friends with them."

Thirty-nine pints in total were collected. One pint can be used to help save up to three lives.

Per the American Red Cross, someone in the United States needs blood every two seconds - more than 41,000 donations are needed every day to keep up.

"These donations help victims of accidents and trauma, newborns with special needs, people recovering from chemotherapy and those suffering from sickle-cell anemia," said Ms. Biancolini. "The Volunteer Ministers are happy to help others by working with One Blood."

The Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology - who co-hosted the blood drive - was created by Scientology's Founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who noticed that the traditional role of the lay minister in society was dwindling.

"A Volunteer Minister does not shut his eyes to the pain, evil and injustice or existence," Hubbard wrote. "Rather, he is trained to handle these things and help others achieve relief from them and new personal strength as well."

In addition to training local residents on their techniques, the Volunteer Ministers of Tampa have assisted relief efforts in disasters a far afield as 9/11, the Tsunamis in India and Indonesia, hurricanes in Florida and the 2011 earthquake in Haiti.

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