An episode of Meet a Scientologist on the Scientology Network shows how Cristal Logotheits launched an international movement to help refugee families.
“I never realized until I had my first son just how much you can love another person and just how far you’re willing to go for them,” says Scientologist Cristal Logothetis.
In an episode of Meet a Scientologist on the Scientology Network, Logothetis describes how she came across the image of a three-year-old boy who drowned off the coast of Greece at the height of the Syrian refugee crisis. She was then riveted by news reports of thousands of families arriving in Greece. She saw parents carrying their babies and toddlers in their arms as they trekked across Europe in search of a safe place to raise their families.
Logothetis set up a crowdfunding website to collect 100 baby carriers for these families. The response was overwhelming. Within days, she had not merely surpassed her goal, she’d rented and filled several storage lockers with more than 900 carriers.
Meet a Scientologist travels with Logothetis to Greece—joined by another woman who simply learned about the project online and volunteered to go with her. They distribute these carriers, showing moms and dads how to use them, often having to resort to sign language.
Her simple act of kindness has grown into an international movement. Today, her nonprofit, Carry the Future, has more than 50 volunteer staff and some 6,000 global volunteers. It provides aid to refugees, especially moms and babies, in countries including Greece, Jordan, Cyprus, Yemen, Bangladesh, and at the U.S./Mexico border.
“One of the amazing things about Carry the Future is that it attracted people from the first day from all walks of life. And it all starts with one person helping one other person,” says Logothetis. “For us, it was simply a humanitarian mission to make sure that the most vulnerable people on the planet have an opportunity to get help.”
Carry the Future changed the narrative because it showed people that they too could get involved. “At the core of our message is ‘You can make a difference; you can do something about it,’” says Logothisis, “which also happens to be very much at the core of Scientology.”
The Scientology Network debuted on March 12, 2018. Since launching, the Scientology Network has been viewed in over 240 countries and territories in 17 languages. Satisfying the curiosity of people about Scientology and Founder L. Ron Hubbard, the network takes viewers across six continents, spotlighting the everyday lives of Scientologists, showing the Church as a global organization, and presenting its social betterment programs that have touched the lives of millions worldwide. The network also showcases documentaries by independent filmmakers who represent a cross-section of cultures and faiths, but share a common purpose of uplifting communities.
Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church’s global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320, DIRECTV STREAM, AT&T U-verse and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.
