On July 18, 2026, the Hollywood Neighborhood Cleanup team, an initiative of the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International, conducted a cleanup operation in Hollywood, California. The 12-member volunteer force focused on blocks around the Church's Celebrity Centre, cleaning along Franklin Avenue and south to Hollywood Boulevard. The effort, based on L. Ron Hubbard's book The Way to Happiness, aimed to demonstrate positive action within the community.
Volunteers interacted with neighbors, business owners, and tourists, informing them of their purpose. After cleaning, they distributed The Way to Happiness booklets. Several encounters highlighted the booklet's impact. A man selling tourist bus rides on Hollywood Boulevard recognized the booklet, stating he read it while in prison and found it calming. He remarked, 'Whenever I would read this book, it would just bring me calm. Sometimes you just gotta read, you know, and I remember this book. I liked it. Excellent.'
At a coffee shop, a counter employee who received the booklet began reading it immediately and became so happy that she placed a stack of booklets on the counter for others. Near an underpass on a busy street, an SUV driver rolled down the window and told the volunteers, 'Did anybody tell you yet today that you guys are awesome?' The group handed them booklets. A man standing at a corner expressed appreciation and agreed the area needed cleaning. Mike, a security guard on Hollywood Boulevard, took two booklets, while Glen, who works with the Hollywood Partnership—an organization that cleans the streets daily—thanked the volunteers and asked if they had seen the movie 'Pay It Forward,' embracing the concept of passing along good work. The group gave him two booklets, one addressed to him and another to 'pay it forward.'
Nick Kurtz, the cleanup in-charge, distributed bundles of a dozen booklets. He approached people by asking if they liked to help others. If they said yes, he explained how the booklet could be used to 'pay it forward' by giving it to someone else. A family from the Riverside area accepted bundles, and a girl waiting at a crosswalk initially suspicious but eventually took a bundle happily.
For over eight years, the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International has donated The Way to Happiness booklets for local neighborhood cleanup activities. The booklet, written by L. Ron Hubbard, states, 'Happiness lies in engaging in worthwhile activities... And that is my wish for you.' More information about the Church's activities can be found at scientology.cc.
