ShelterBox
The Club has since 2006 annually donated funds to the UK Disaster Charity ShelterBox which provides emergency shelter and essential items to support communities around the world affected by disasters and humanitarian crises. Communities who, often with no warning, lose their homes, their possessions and their livelihoods and every day are faced with a battle for survival.
ShelterBox are extremely grateful for the support which has provided for Boxes and Shelterkits etc. helping thousands of people. The Club has recently been nominated as a Gold partner for the year 2022-23 (1 of 17) and a Silver Partner for the year 2023-24 (1 of 16) with donations of £9,750 and £5,442 respectively. The Club thanks all members who have contributed in any way.
Recent responses to disasters can be seen in the ShelterBox in Action - link in side menu.
Since it was founded in 2000 ShelterBox has supported more than 2.5m people across 100 countries after disasters and humanitarian crises - earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, landslides, typhoons and conflict. It all began in the small town of Helston in Cornwall, UK and the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard adopted it as its millennium project. Little did they know that it and its iconic green boxes would become a major player in the field of international disaster relief. 
The first consignment of 143 boxes was sent to earthquake victims in the Indian state of Gujarat in January 2001. Over the next three years the project matured and by the end of 2004 nearly 2,600 boxes had been dispatched, following 16 major disasters. The devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami changed ShelterBox forever as donations and volunteers poured in and they were able to ramp up operations on a scale unimaginable just six months earlier sending out more than 22,000 boxes, almost 10 times the number sent out in the previous three years.
The global support from the Rotary network is the cornerstone that ShelterBox is built on and Rotary has been an official project partner since 2012. This valuable partnership means ShelterBox can have a wider reach, support more people, and access areas that would otherwise be impossible to reach.
| ShelterBox state: "Rotary has been instrumental in our growth and Rotarians are the cement that binds us together. The fundraising efforts by Rotarians make up a significant proportion of donations received by ShelterBox. Alongside this, Rotary Clubs provide invaluable logistical support to our field operations. Rotarians will often be the people who ensure aid can be delivered into a country by acting as consignees and more often than not, it will be Rotarians who are the first point of contact for the ShelterBox Response Team members when they arrive in a country that has been devastated by a disaster. They provide everything from logistical support, translators, local knowledge to a bed to sleep in". |
How ShelterBox Respond
Every disaster is different and no two responses are the same. They often go further, working with hard-to-reach communities who are overlooked by others. Their teams travel by foot, boat, helicopter or tuk-tuk to get to the families needing support.
 |
 |
 |
Before a disaster happens, they ensure they are ready to help at a moment’s notice by storing aid in strategic locations around the world and procuring items locally. They work with trusted local partners and have a network of volunteers who are ready to help at a moment’s notice.
There’s no ‘one size fits all solution’ so by listening to what’s needed most they adapt their response every time. Their Support includes:
providing items such as tents, tarpaulins, blankets, mosquito nets, water filters and solar lights- supporting people to access cash or vouchers, so they can choose the items they need most or pay for repairs on their homes or
- accessing longer-lasting shelters where communities are likely to be displaced for a long time.