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shelterbox

What's in a ShelterBox?

ShelterBoxes are prepared & packed using all new materials at the ShelterBox warehouse based in Helston, Cornwall.

The standard ShelterBox weighs 110 lbs. and has approximate dimensions of 2'3" x 1'4" x 11".

Shelter

At the heart of every ShelterBox is a disaster relief tent for a family of up to 10 people. It is is designed to withstand extreme temperatures, high winds and heavy rainfall. Internally, each tent has privacy partitions that allow recipients to divide the space as they see fit.

Warmth and protection

In addition to the tent, there is a range of other survival equipment including thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, essential in areas where temperatures plummet at nightfall. Where malaria is prevalent mosquito nets are supplied, as well a life saving means of water purification. Water supplies often become contaminated after a major disaster, as infrastructure and sanitation systems are destroyed, this presents a secondary but no less dangerous threat to survivors than the initial disaster itself.

wood burning stove

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ShelterBox: How Rotarians Help Disaster Victims in Japan & Alabama

468 ShelterBoxes are being deployed in Japan as of Friday morning. Another 500 have been requested by the Japanese government and are on the way. Starting as the brainchild of one Rotarian with the support of his Rotary club in year 2000 – ShelterBox has grown to become the largest Rotary Club project in the 100 year history of the organization. Tornado victims in Alabama are getting help.

There are more than 250,000 people in Japan that are without homes. They are extremely grateful for ShelterBox supporters donations

These Tents Allow a Family the Dignity & Privacy they Deserve

ShelterBoxes Leave England for Japan

Photo Courtesy of Mitchell Synder

Rotarian support currently contributes an estimated 50% of ShelterBox donations. Around 5,000 rotary clubs worldwide have supported ShelterBox since it was launched.

Recognizing this worldwide support from the Rotary community, ShelterBox was designated as a Global Rotary Club Project in 2009. Logos with this designation will now appear on all ShelterBoxes, tents, blankets and ancillary materials. The donation required to sponsor a box is $1,000, which includes all materials, packing, storage and distribution to individual recipients worldwide.

Rotary Supporting ShelterBox

Rotarians underpin many of the essential activities of ShelterBox including:

• Donations - vital to funding ShelterBox disaster relief efforts

• Support in promoting the work of ShelterBox by speaking to clubs, schools & community groups.

• Volunteering in all fields from packing boxes, to administrative support and fundraising assistance.

• Participation in volunteer ShelterBox Response Teams (SRTs) deployed to disasters worldwide to deliver aid.

• Extensive support to SRTs arriving in disaster affected countries. Help often encompasses customs clearance, logistics, transport, accommodation and essential local knowledge and connections.

• Staff, management and leadership of the organization as employees or volunteer trustees and directors.

ShelterBox was founded by Tom Henderson, a Rotarian and former Royal Navy search and rescue diver.

He saw that the aid response to most disasters was in the form of food and medicine to help people survive the immediate aftermath.

goal Little or no assistance was given in terms of proper shelter to help them through the first few days, weeks and months as they tried to rebuild their lives. ShelterBox was launched to fill that void.

In 1999, Tom started researching the idea, sourcing equipment and twisting arms to get the project off the ground. His persistence paid off in April 2000 when ShelterBox was launched and the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall adopted it as its millennium project. Little did they know that it would become the largest Rotary club project in the world, with affiliates in countries across the globe.

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. On 26 December 2004, news came of the devastating Indian Ocean Tsunami and ShelterBox faced its most significant challenge, one that would change its course forever. Donations and volunteers poured in and we were able to ramp up our operations on a scale unimaginable just six months earlier.

In 2005 we sent out more than 22,000 boxes, almost 10 times the number we had sent out in the previous three years. Not only were we sending aid to victims of the Tsunami, but we were also able to help those who had lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina in the USA and the massive earthquake that hit the Kashmir region of Pakistan. In just a few short months, ShelterBox had emerged as a major player in the field of international disaster relief.

ShelterBoxes Arrive in Japan We have continued to build on our Tsunami experience, helping as many people as we can, as quickly as we can, the moment disaster strikes.

We have now worked on every continent, responding to earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, typhoons, hurricanes, volcanoes and conflicts.