The Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club has been honored several times for its strong ongoing financial support of this international disaster relief organization. Presently, SRC is a coveted silver-level “Hero Club” for its ongoing support.
As a Rotary-affiliated NGO (non-government organization), ShelterBox can and does react quickly and effectively with targeted deliveries of relief equipment to victims of earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and even displacements caused by war and terrorism.
This page will give you all the details.
1. General
1a. What is ShelterBox?
ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity and a global Rotary club project. The charity was set up in 2000 to provide rapid disaster aid to families all over the world made homeless by disasters. The first disaster we responded to was an earthquake in Gujarat, India, in January 2001. ShelterBox also is supported by affiliated organizations.
1b. What does ShelterBox do?
ShelterBox responds instantly to disasters providing shelter, warmth and dignity anywhere in the world. A ShelterBox supplies an extended family with a domicile tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The contents are tailored to fit the nature and location of the disaster, with great care taken sourcing every item to ensure it is robust enough to be of lasting value.
1c. What is the link with Rotary?
In the early days of ShelterBox, the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, England, adopted the concept as its millennium project. Since then, and with the continued support from Rotarians worldwide, ShelterBox has grown remarkably and now is a Rotary Project Partner. This partnership enables both of us to collaborate more closely to bring relief and temporary shelter to survivors of disasters worldwide. The project partner agreement builds on both of our strengths in responding to disasters all over the world.
1d. Who funds ShelterBox?
ShelterBox is funded by public donations — companies, organizations, and individuals. We also are part of the Department of International Development’s (DFID) Rapid Response Facility that allows us to access funding within 72 hours of a disaster, enabling us to do what we do best — deliver emergency shelter and equipment in the shortest time possible. Public donations continue to be of vital importance as the Rapid Response Facility will only be activated in the event of a large-scale crisis. We do not receive funding from the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee).
1e. Value for money?
ShelterBox benefits from the tireless efforts of a strong and extensive support base of volunteers. In addition to passionate and dedicated volunteers, ShelterBox boasts a highly committed and performance driven body of professional staff.
2. About our aid
2a. What aid does ShelterBox provide?
We deliver the essentials people need to begin rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of a disaster. Every time we respond to a natural disaster or humanitarian crisis, we ensure that the aid we provide is tailored to the needs of the communities we’re helping.
2b. What’s in a ShelterBox?
The contents of a ShelterBox will vary depending on the disaster, but this is an example of a generic pack:
- Domicile tent
- Blankets and groundsheets
- Durable plastic storage box
- Mosquito net
- Stove
- Water containers and purification items
- Cooking equipment
- Tool kit
- Children’s activity pack
A range of equipment is kept in stock. This allows ShelterBox to be flexible and adjust the contents of the box according to the environment they are going to.
2c. Do you send anything else?
In any disaster a large number of people without shelter inevitably will be children. Schools often will have been destroyed along with homes and other buildings. ShelterBox, therefore, sometimes will include “School Boxes” in their consignments along with the usual green boxes. These contain essential supplies for teachers, including blackboard paint and chalk, along with school equipment for 50 children.
2d. How big is the average ShelterBox, and what does it weigh?
Each box is 24” (570mm) wide by 33” (842mm) long by 22” (602mm) deep – giving a capacity of 40.7gallons (185 liters). Fully packed, a box weighs between 110 and 130 pounds (50 to 60kg).
3. Operations
3a. How quickly can you respond?
ShelterBox aims to promptly get its boxes and a response team to the scene of a disaster, anywhere worldwide. The exact time will depend on the circumstances and we can only distribute aid within safe and achievable, operational parameters. Our aim always is to provide immediate aid wherever possible.
3b. Who decides where you send aid?
The decisions on whether to send aid, how many boxes, and what goes in the boxes are made by our staff, based on the identified need and available resources at the time of the disaster and the charity’s donation income. ShelterBox constantly monitors situations around the world through specialist channels, allowing it to make informed decisions about any response. As well as initiating deployments of emergency shelter independently, it also responds to requests for assistance from other aid agencies and government organizations.
3c. How does aid then get to its destination?
Aid is delivered to the disaster area by whatever means are appropriate and accompanied by volunteer response teams. These teams will charter vehicles locally and work with whatever other organizations are appropriate. These could include: other aid agencies; local armed forces, police and government bodies; Rotary and other local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) bodies. Response teams are used to finding alternative forms of transport, whether taking helicopters to the mountains of Nepal, or building rafts in Sri Lanka to reach communities cut off by flooding.
3d. Do you keep aid ready to go?
ShelterBox has stocks of ShelterBoxes and other materials in strategic locations around the world. These pre-positioned locations include Dubai, Singapore, Melbourne, Panama, Curacao, and Nairobi. These are sometimes used as the first wave of aid into a disaster area to significantly reduce the response time.
3e. Can donations be given for a specific location?
ShelterBox usually is unable to accept time- or location-specific donations. The way we work means we have to be prepared for immediate response. Donations received before a disaster often will be those that are used to respond to it. Donations stimulated in response to a disaster may be used to prepare for the next one.
3f. How do you source aid materials
ShelterBox uses only new, good quality equipment and obtains all material from leading suppliers at competitive rates. It is crucial that equipment is durable, well constructed and capable of standing up to a range of potential climatic & challenging conditions.
3g. What tents do you provide?
As well as the familiar design of a white dome tent, which has evolved over years of ShelterBox experiencearound the world, we use a range of other tents, each suited to different situations.
3h. How long does the equipment last?
The humanitarian aid provided by ShelterBox aims to cover the immediate need in the wake of a disaster. We anticipate it being used for at least six months but expect it to last for years if treated reasonably. That’s why it is important the aid we send is hard wearing and long lasting.
3i. Do you work with other aid organizations?
ShelterBox response teams accompany our aid to make sure it gets directly to those people who need it most. Response teams have worked with other aid agencies over the years such as Save The Children, The Red Crescent, UNICEF, Oxfam, UNHCR, and World Vision.
4. Supporting ShelterBox
4a. How can I give money to ShelterBox?
4b. How do I raise money for ShelterBox?
Most of our fundraisers organize their own events and activities –- anything from sponsored walks and coffee mornings to fire walking and a 100-kilometer “ultra marathon” in Lapland! Please email fundraising@shelterbox.org should you need any support, fliers or posters.
Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club 