Up to 114 Lives Saved by One Blood and the Volunteer Ministers At Summer Blood Drive

CLEARWATER, Fla. - July 23, 2013 - PRLog -- CLEARWATER: 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 weekend’s donors came from all walks of life, but they all had one purpose – to help others.

“We had several people just stop by in order to donate, they weren’t even planning on it,” said Church spokesperson Pat Harney. “This included someone who had never donated before – but they all wanted to make a difference.”

Harney herself also donated, saying, “When you think about it, twenty minutes out of my day, one renewable pint, are a pretty small sacrifice - especially when you consider what the people who will receive the donation are going through.”

Per the One Blood website, blood donations help trauma victims, newborns, premature babies, people recovering from chemotherapy and burn victims. It is estimated by One Blood that someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion every two seconds.

The Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology – who co-hosted the blood drive were founded 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.

For more information about the Volunteer Ministers, please go to www.volunteerministers.org.