A look at our newest award

October 28, 2016October 29, 2016 SRCrotaryLeave a comment

honor-club

ShelterBox USA has just honored the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club as a Silver Level Hero Club.

The award, which follows several other ShelterBox honors in the past few years, is in recognition of our club’s financial support of the emergency relief organization, this time for its contribution of more than $3,000 in the 2015-16 Rotary Year.

Our club’s current budget includes another $3,000 contribution to the work of ShelterBox (we already have raised $2,600 toward that goal), and the club Board of Directors has approved a three-year pledge of $3,000 per year, which would maintain the Silver Hero Club status. The ShelterBox Hero program provides for three-year pledges at the $1,000 (bronze), $3,000 (silver), and $5,000 (gold) levels per year.

In addition to ongoing relief efforts in Haiti, Ecuador, Italy and elsewhere to battle the effects of natural disasters, ShelterBox also has been flooding the Mosul, Iraq, region with ShelterBoxes to help people fleeing from the fierce fighting in and around that city as government and allied forces fight to oust ISIS terrorists there. In the past two weeks, about 2,000 ShelterBoxes — at an expenditure of $2 million — have been sent there and are being out to use.

ShelterBox teams at work in ravaged Haiti

October 8, 2016November 22, 2016 SRCrotaryLeave a comment

screen-shot-2016-10-08-at-3-16-34-pm — **Scenes of destruction in Haiti**

Even as parts of Haiti still were recovering from a catastrophic 2010 earthquake, Hurricane Matthew tore through the impoverished island nation earlier this week, leaving more than 300 people dead, tens of thousands homeless, and much of the infrastructure damaged.

The Category 4 storm has affected an estimated 330,000 people in Haiti, including 6,400 who have been moved to temporary shelters.

Extensive damage to main bridges and other transportation networks have left some areas cut off and vulnerable. Torrential rains have resulted in flooding and landslides. And, contaminated water supplies threaten to lead to a surge in cholera cases and other waterborne illnesses.

A ShelterBox response team of volunteers from the U.S., Canada, England, and New Zealand traveled to the capital city of Port-au-Prince Friday to assess the damage and Read More »

ShelterBox scrambles to help as Hurricane Matthew destroys

October 5, 2016 SRCrotaryLeave a comment

screen-shot-2016-10-05-at-2-28-59-pm — **A ShelterBox team moving emergency materials.**

Hurricane Matthew is currently tearing through the Caribbean, destroying homes and entire communities in its path and close to hitting the U.S. mainland.

The Category 4 storm is hitting some of the region’s most vulnerable areas, including Haiti, which still is recovering from the catastrophic earthquake in 2010. With winds of up to 145 mph, it is the most powerful storm to affect Haiti in more than a half-century.

Haiti is one of the world’s poorest countries, and many residents live in structurally unsound housing in flood-prone areas. This storm could leave thousands of families exposed to the elements, along with increasing the likelihood of waterborne diseases like cholera. And, as many as 12,000 people in Haiti already are struggling with shelter.

Destruction of the bridge that links the capital city, Port-au-Prince, with the southern part of the country means that many communications and infrastructure networks are down, making information gathering very difficult.

ShelterBox already is responding to the disaster. The operations team is deploying a ShelterBox Response Team to Haiti, to arrive in-country on Friday; airport closures in Port-au-Prince prevented an even-earlier arrival. Initial contact has been made with the Rotarian Haiti Disaster Chair

ShelterBox already has some aid material stored in Haiti, and large stocks of aid in Panama, ready to assist during the hurricane season. With airports closed, some of this aid already has been dispatched from Curacao aboard the Dutch Navy vessel HMNS Holland. The aid includes water filtration equipment which, given the flooding, will be vital; solar lighting to assist during electricity blackouts; blankets, special shelter kits of tools and tarpaulins to help weatherproof damaged buildings and other materials.

ShelterBox has worked extensively in Haiti, with the largest response after the 2010 earthquake there. It played a major role in the provision of tented shelters after the 2010 earthquake, which displaced 1 million people. ShelterBox provided more than 28,000 boxes for that emergency, which represented more than 25% of all tented shelter provided for the displaced families of the earthquake.

About Accepting Donations

“Because ShelterBox specialists are in the process of assessing the best way to respond and the most appropriate aid for the situation, and the full scale of our response, we cannot accept donations restricted to the Hurricane Matthew response,” ShelterBox says.

“We are requesting donor support that will help us provide emergency aid to families affected by the hurricane, support people affected by disaster in our numerous other ongoing responses around the world, and enable replacement of exhausted aid supplies. Deployment Essentials or Unrestricted funds would be the most appropriate at this time.”

How You Can Help

One of the quickest ways to help is by sharing ShelterBox updates with your entire network and encouraging them to share with their networks. Here is an example:

· 12,000 people in #Haiti possibly without shelter after #Matthew. ShelterBox Response Team to conduct assessment. http://shelterboxusa.org/matthew

(Please be sure when posting to social media or emailing information that you link to the ShelterBox USA information (not just to ShelterBox).

ShelterBox teams headed for quake-ravaged Italy

August 24, 2016August 25, 2016 SRCrotaryLeave a comment

Screen shot 2016-08-24 at 4.43.18 PM The majority of natural disasters seem to happen in Africa, Asia, and South America, and ShelterBox is always among the very first responders to bring aid to the victims.

Screen shot 2016-05-25 at 4.38.58 PM This week, however, ShelterBox teams are being dispatched to central Italy where a devastating Wednesday earthquake of 6.2 magnitude has resulted in the deaths of at least 250 people as of this posting, along with swaths of destruction that have virtually wiped out a series of small towns, according to ANSA, the Italian news service.

ShelterBox, which usually is on scene before most governmental agencies, is always in need of a steady revenue stream because of the unending number of disasters it tends to worldwide. The Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club has purchased five ShelterBoxes, at $1,000 each, recently, but the organization always can use more.

If you can donate, please do so through club treasurer Murray Forth rather than doing so online. That way we can track where our donations are going. If you need more information on the ShelterBox program, contact Bill Dowd, our club’s ShelterBox liaison officer.

• Go here for a continually updated CNN blog on the situation.

ShelterBox monitoring multiple disaster areas around the globe

August 18, 2016 SRCrotaryLeave a comment

Screen shot 2016-08-18 at 4.59.07 PM

ShelterBox, which just renewed its affiliation with Rotary International for another three years, has been busy this summer responding to disasters around the world, many of which get little coverage in the international media.

Flooding in Sri Lanka, a typhoon in Fiji, an earthquake in Ecuador, and the ongoing conflict in Syria are just a few of the 2016 deployments. Here are situations that the ShelterBox Operations Team is currently monitoring:

• Louisiana: Flooding — At least 40,000 homes damaged, thousands displaced and 11 people killed in some of the worst flooding in Louisiana history.

• California: Wildfire — The 18,000-acre Blue Cut fire has burned through rural communities in California, triggering evacuation orders for more than 82,000 residents as 700 firefighters battle the blaze.

• Arequipa, Peru: Earthquake — A 5.4 magnitude earthquake struck in the Caylloma province of Peru damaging houses, schools and highways. The quake struck a day before the anniversary of a 2007 earthquake in Peru that that left more than 500 people dead, 1,300 injured and around 200,000 homeless.

• Mosul, Iraq: Conflict — It is likely that up to one million people could be displaced from Mosul as an expected offensive begins this month. ShelterBox is looking into how to best support refugee camps outside the city that are already overstretched.

• Syria: The city of Alepo is surrounded and cut off. Right now, the Syrian Government and rebel forces are locked in conflict over the divided city of Aleppo, with essential aid lifeline, the Castello Road, now impassable. An estimated 300,000 civilians, 60% of them women and children, are caught in the crossfire with dwindling supplies of food and water. The situation is dire.

• Multi-country Refugee Problem: ShelterBox has been responding to the Syrian refugee crisis since 2012, supporting displaced families with tents, shelter kits and educational equipment, both inside Aleppo and in displacement camps within Syria and refugee camps in neighboring countries including Iraqi Kurdistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Greece. ShelterBox’s Operations team is monitoring the latest developments, and is in constant contact with colleague organizations on the ground in Syria.

We send money, he sends himself (both are good)

July 22, 2016July 23, 2016 SRCrotaryLeave a comment

There can be few greater life achievements than being honored as “a gift to the world” in a personal letter by the president of a major international service organization.

That is what has happened to Derek Locke, a native of Plymouth, England, who has lived in the U.S. for 30 years. He was described by outgoing Rotary International President K.R. Ravindran as “an extraordinary example of how each Rotarian can make a difference.”

Derek recently was presented with the Rotary International “Service Above Self Award” by then-District Governor Wayne Brown Titus III in a ceremony in Kalamazoo, MI.

What has he done to deserve the honor? Quite a lot.

Derek has been a ShelterBox Ambassador since July 2010, a team coordinator for the Southeast Michigan Ambassador team, and a member of the ShelterBox USA Ambassador Council.

In addition, he recently returned from witkong on ShelterBox’s deployment to the area of Sri Lanka devastated by landslides, an effort that was not unusual for him.

During his years of unpaid volunteer work, Derek has compiled an astounding 38 weeks of service as a ShelterBox response volunteer in Peru, Nigeria, Lebanon, Paraguay, Mexico, Malawi, Chile, Nepal, California, and Fiji, as well as three separate deployments to the Philippines.

Rotary’s highest honor, granted to very few Rotarians worldwide, recognizes those who live up to the organization’s motto, “Service Above Self,” by volunteering their time and talents to help others.

In addition to this latest plaudit, Derek also holds five separate Volunteer Service Awards awarded by U.S. Rotary presidents.

Derek describes his introduction to the ShelterBox program in 2010.

“When I visited my parents in Plymouth, England, being so close to the headquarters, my family decided to visit ShelterBox. I learned much about the operation and was so impressed with what ShelterBox did and the way that they operate, I decided that I needed to do what I could.”

Alex Youlten, ShelterBox’s Community Development Coordinator who worked with Derek in Sri Lanka, says, “Derek’s actions really highlight the strength and potential of the Project Partnership between RI and ShelterBox. His commitment, passion, compassion and meticulous attention to detail are evident in all his work for communities around the world — helping to ensure the right response is delivered in the right way to those who need it the most.”

ShelterBox challenge: Can you go ‘Off the Grid’?

June 23, 2016June 23, 2016 SRCrotaryLeave a comment

Screen shot 2016-06-23 at 3.20.15 PM • Scroll down to see invitations and sponsorship forms.

Many of us joke that we know people who can’t be parted from their many electronic devices for even a minute. Are you one of those electronic slaves?

Screen shot 2016-06-23 at 3.24.45 PM There’s a way to find out on the weekend of July 16-17. Take the “Go Off the Grid for ShelterBox” challenge.

This could be an interesting family experiment, seeing that even though you’d have no power you still would not be powerless. By taking part, you’ll get a sense of what life is like for families who lost everything when disaster struck — the kind of people your ShelterBox contributions help around the world. They are forced to live without electricity, no light, no safety, no place to cook and keep warm. No shelter over their heads.

If you, or you and your family, decide to “Go Off the Grid” it will mean no texting, no downloading, no videos, no tweeting, no music, no TV, no video games, not even lights, for a period of 24 consecutive hours during the designated weekend. But, that doesn’t mean you’d have to sit around like stunned sheep. You can download tips or order an “Off The Grid Survival Box,” packed with BBQ recipes, games, activities and other ideas from the folks at ShelterBox to keep the whole family connected — to each other.

The intent of the challenge is to raise awareness of just how difficult life is without the many everyday things we take for granted, and in doing so to increase interest in donating to ShelterBox. Of course, you can always do that without taking the challenge, but it’s a fascinating idea that your entire family will remember.

You don’t have to be a Rotarian to support ShelterBox. Throw a backyard cookout — call it an “OFF THE GRIDdle BBQ”), invite friends and neighbors (be sure to tell them no phones, tablets, etc., allowed.) Here’s an official invitation …

Screen shot 2016-06-23 at 3.31.51 PM

… and, you can download free copies of it by clicking here. Then, simply send the donations along to ShelterBox. (You also can direct your invitees to our website where they can find details on what ShelterBox is all about.)

Another way to raise funds for ShelterBox is to use the 24-hour event the same way you would a walk-athon, a bike-athon, etc. Get sponsors. Here’s what the official pledge form looks like …

Screen shot 2016-06-23 at 3.41.14 PM

… and, you can download free copies by clicking here. Then, just as you would with cookout donations, send the money along to ShelterBox.

You can find ShelterBox info in unusual places

May 12, 2016June 9, 2016 SRCrotaryLeave a comment

Bill and April Dowd dropped in at Faddegon’s Nursery for their annual spring plants and flowers purchases, and checked out the special ShelterBox display there. Here are Bill’s photos.