Tom Cruise

Mr Tom Cruise, as well as being one of the top actors on the planet, is involved in many social betterment activities. Contributing his time to worthy causes.

It is a well-known fact that he is an follower of the Scientology Religion and due to his affinity for Spain and the Spanish people, he participated in the official grand opening of the Church of Scientology Spain in Madrid.

This was also covered by beliefnet.com.





It has been stated publically by Tom Cruise, "Scientology helped me."

This is one of the things he stated in an article:

"When I was about 7, I had been labeled dyslexic," he told People magazine for its July 21 issue. "I'd try to concentrate on what I was reading, then I'd get to the end of the page and have very little memory of anything I'd read. I would go blank, feel anxious, nervous, bored, frustrated, dumb." After "Top Gun" came out in 1986, Cruise became a Scientologist and discovered the ``Study Technology'' the religion's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, developed in the 1960s. "I realized I could absolutely learn anything that I wanted to learn," Cruise said. Now the 41-year-old actor is a founding board member of the Hollywood Education and Literacy Project, a nonprofit group that uses Hubbard's teaching techniques in a secular setting. "I don't want people to go through what I went through," Cruise said. "I want kids to have the ability to read, to write, to understand what people are saying to them, to be able to solve life's problems."

He has also been an ambassador for the Church of Scientology International in other European countries.

I think his activities and what he has done to help others, definitely qualifies him for my Heroes blog.

"Freewinds"

Well here's an interesting idea. In the Caribbean the "Unsung Heroes" competition.
Here's some information from an article about it:

"ACCOMPANIED by acting principal Mrs. Christa Thornhill and a small group of teachers, a group of over seventy students from the Christ Church Girls school toured the “Freewinds” cruise liner on Thursday morning.

The tour was the latest of the community outreach initiatives of FirstCaribbean’s “Unsung Heroes” winning finalist, Mr. Randolph Smith. According to this community-minded philanthropist, “the idea [for the student tour] was given to me by former Deputy Chairman of the Port Authority Mr. Victor Roach [since] “Freewinds” was willing to put the vessel at the disposal of local schoolchildren, by providing educational tours.”

Proceeding sedately in pairs, the class three pupils all aged between 9-10 years, at first expressed a mixture of apprehension and excitement at what, for some of them, was their very first visit aboard a ship. The approximately two-and-a-half hour tour was conducted with much interactive hospitality and gusto by Port Captain Ludwig Alpers, who informed that he had been sailing with the “Freewinds” for over 16 years. This year will make 15 years that the vessel has home-ported in Barbados and, according to Anders, “we will be celebrating this occasion in June.”

The fact that he admitted to “loving” his job, especially the student-tour aspect of it, could have been otherwise perceived by the instant rapport established between the Port Captain and his Christ Church girls visitors.

Consequently, somewhere between his “pop-test” quizzing of the students on the nature and workings of the ship, and the rapturously received three-song-presentation by lead singer Heather and the Freewinds Band, all initial fear was lost, as the students sang along to popular hits such as Alicia Keys’ “Falling,” Desiree’s “You Gotta Be” and a reggae-styled version of the John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

At the end of the tour, Acting Principal Mrs. Christa Thornhill was presented by Port Captain Alpers with a framed photo of the “Freewinds” as a momento of the tour.

Built in 1968, the 36-year-old vessel is 440 feet (ft) long by 65 ft wide and with a maximum berthing capacity set at 780 persons. The usual passengers-to-crew ratio was however cited as that of 300 to 220." The Barbados Advocate

Here's a picture of the children:



Here's a picture of the "Freewinds:"



From a Cruise Ship's Schedule 2004

Quote: L. Ron Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard put heros and heroism in perfect perspective when he wrote:


"In common pursuits and activities, man respects skill and ability. These in a hero or athlete are almost worshipped.

The test of true competence is the end result."

The King Center

Education World has a lesson plan for teaching youth about heros. "Everyone has a hero -- someone to look up to or admire" is the premis of this study program, and children are invited to learn about people they really admire, and create stories, picture books, develope holidays and other ideas.

One man truly deservong of this title was:

Martin Luther King Jr.

Doctors Without Borders

There are men and women who dedicate their lives to helping others. Most of these people are not famous, but fame is not part of the equation that motivates their work. Neither is money. Help is what drives them - helping others.

Doctors Without Borders is one such organziation.
These are dedicated humanitarians who deserve support.