CLEARWATER, Fla., March 18, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) \u2014 In celebration of National Volunteer Week (April 12 \u2013 18, 2015), several hundred Tampa Bay volunteers will be honored for their service to the community at the historic Fort Harrison, the religious retreat of the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization.<\/span><\/p>\n The event will take place on April 15 and is part of the nation-wide celebration for volunteerism. National Volunteer Week was established in 1974 and supported by federal, state and local leaders as well as grass roots organizations around the country.<\/p>\n \u201cNational Volunteer Week is about taking action and encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change \u2013 discovering and actively demonstrating their collective power to make a difference,\u201d states the Points of Light Foundation\u2019s website. The Foundation has been active in supporting and promoting this week since 1990.<\/p>\n Tampa Bay honorees at the April event will be presented with a President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award, including a letter from the US President and a special pin.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are every-day heroes,\u201d said Pat Harney, the Director of Public Affairs for the Church of Scientology and the organizer of the event, \u201cthey are ordinary people who quietly accomplish extraordinary things. We, as a society, don\u2019t thank them enough, and it is great that this week gives us an opportunity to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n Ms. Harney also cites statistics in the US, including the fact that 25% of Americans volunteer, more than 50% of Americans gave to charities last year, and more than 60% of Americans do \u2018informal volunteering\u2019 \u2013 helping a neighbor, babysitting for a friend or even feeding a pet while its owner is on vacation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the Way to Happiness, L. Ron Hubbard, wrote \u2018As they guard the street, counsel the children, take the temperatures, put out the first and speak good sense in quiet voices, one is apt to overlook the fact that people of good will are the ones that keep the world going and Man alive upon this Earth.\u2019 And we will be honoring those from our community who demonstrate that,\u201d concluded Ms. Harney.<\/p>\n For more information about the event, or to nominate a volunteer for the President\u2019s Volunteer Service Award, please contact Pat Harney at (727) 467-6860.<\/p>\n