I went to LA and MS for a few days to help other Scientology Volunteer Ministers after Katrina and know how hard they worked. It's great to see an article about C of S in Lousiana:
Storm work increases Church of Scientology attendance in La. LAFAYETTE — The volunteer ministers the Church of Scientology brings to respond to disasters come out of many walks of life.
Dentists, office managers, roofers and the actress who gives voice to Bart Simpson all donned the church’s bright yellow T-shirts and went to work.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, about 1,000 volunteer ministers from across the United States and Canada came to Louisiana in clusters of about 300 at any given time, church officials said. They worked with other faith groups and the Red Cross to assist and in some cases run the shelters.
While other faith groups that responded — Catholics, Baptists, Methodists — already had a large presence in the Gulf Coast region, the Church of Scientology is relatively small.
However, the visibility and goodwill earned during relief efforts following hurricanes Katrina and Rita created momentum that has helped the church open new missions in the region and see increased interest at the ones it already had.
“We grow as much as we help people,” explained Craig Gehring, an employee at the Church of Scientology’s Mission in Baton Rouge.......
