ShelterBox Story

Located in Northern Connecticut and Western Massachusetts
with 62 community service minded clubs.

Peter and Sue Klock will come to your club to explain and demonstrate the ShelterBox

Peter and Sue Klock with Dave Mangs, president of West Hartford 06-07.

Peter Klock at RI Convention
in Chicago at the ShelterBox Display

ShelterBox and tent.

ShelterBox Continues to Meet the Need
for Emergency Shelter

Following the overwhelming needs caused by multiple disasters in 2005, 2006 should have provided a break for this international disaster-relief effort But, as the ShelterBox motto suggests "The Need Exists . . .The Need Persists." In June, hundreds of boxes were sent to Java which suffered a triple whammy, volcano, earthquake and tsunami over a couple of weeks. Hundreds went to Lebanon and Cyprus to relieve the misery caused by warfare in southern Lebanon last August. The heroism of local Rotarians who helped transport the boxes from an airfield in Beirut to a safe refuge in northern Lebanon is a story fit for an entire Rotary program. Hundreds more went to Kashmir - yes, no mistake - more than a year after devastating earthquakes left thousands homeless, more tents were requested in October to house those facing a second winter with no shelter. December brought a tsunami to the Philippines and a volcanic eruption in Papua New Guinea. And, on to 2007, flooding in northern Kenya in January saw ShelterBox cooperating to move two entire villages uphill. Then, in March, flooding in areas of Bolivia triggered requests for boxes. Most recently, a tsunami hit the Solomon Islands and within days hundreds of boxes were shipped via Australia to that remote spot.

Sue and Peter Klock of East Hartford Rotary have experienced great responses from many clubs in District 7890, and especially appreciate the support of DG Sue Atkins and PDG Karen Andrews. District recognition of a club's donating ShelterBoxes as counting toward the Presidential Citation is significant. Sue says: "Right now, we are reinforcing the message of ongoing need - ShelterBox is continually replacing inventory, to be ready to pack area-appropriate boxes when a request is made by a Rotary Club or disaster relief agency. Also, boxes are continually being designated for the effort to provide relief for families displaced by ethnic strife in Africa, AMA, A Million for Africa, which is spearheaded by ShelterBox in cooperation with UNICEF and the UN High Command for Refugees."

The Klocks are encouraging Presidents-elect to include a box or two in the club budget for next year. Each box costs $1000 - see information on contents at www.shelterboxusa.org and information on most recent shipments at www.shelterboxuk.org. Contact Sue and Peter, klocks@shelterboxusa.org, for information about funding a box. The Klocks will be pitching the tent at our District Conference on Cape Cod. Consider it a substation of East Hartford's hospitality suite! Stop by. And, consider coordinating with some fellow Rotarians in making a donation. Klocks will be offering another two-for-one special, only at the conference.

The Background of ShelterBox

The ShelterBox motto is "The Need Exists, The Need Persists". The need has been demonstrated in recent months when we have witnessed appalling disasters here at home with hurricanes pummeling our southeastern states and now the after-effects of the devastating earthquake in Pakistan. The Klocks first became aware of and interested in ShelterBox USA at the time of last December's tsunami. Frank Collins, FRIVP and currently RI's delegate to the UN, is a member of the East Hartford Club and stepped up to the podium at their first meeting for 2005 to describe a number of ways for Rotarians to help alleviate post-tsunami suffering. Hearing that ShelterBox relief was on the ground before the International Red Cross was impressive; hearing that ShelterBoxes were dispensed and shared fairly under the watchful eye of local Rotarians was especially appealing. The Klocks opted to follow Frank's suggestion. A few months later, at June's RI Convention, Peter and Sue met Executive Director Beth Palmer and her husband, Gerry, at the ShelterBox USA display in the House of Friendship. There they became convinced to put their energies into this effort and offered to become regional representatives.

ShelterBox is the brainchild of Rotarian Tom Henderson of Helston-Lizard Club in Cornwall, England. In 2002, while visiting friends in Florida, Tom met Jerry and Danise Hearn of the Lakewood Ranch (FL) Rotary Club. The Hearns were impressed by Tom's idea, and created ShelterBox USA, with the Lakewood Ranch Club becoming the primary administrator for ShelterBox in this country.. An ingenious but simple and flexible approach to providing housing, bedding and clean water for areas ravaged by natural and man-made disasters, ShelterBox has been so effective, clubs in Australia and Canada also have established branches. ShelterBox Japan has joined this global, grassroots, Rotary effort. It's important to note the global emphasis.

Locally, Rotary Club members, Sue and Peter Klock, are the Regional Representatives for ShelterBox USA. They are eager to visit clubs in District 7890 to pitch the ShelterBox tent, showing Rotarians what is in the "shelterbox" and pointing the way toward area clubs' working to fulfill an avenue of service -- international -- by donating at least one box. (RI endorses this and recognizes a club's support as an international project.)

The typical shelter box, designed for TEN people, includes bedding, cooking aids, tools, and a clean water kit in a sturdy box which can be used on site for anything from a baby crib to an eating table. These boxes are flexible - boxes going to Africa might not contain ponchos, whereas boxes for Katrina area held two tents, ponchos but no cook stove since most users were being provided meals by agencies such as Red Cross and the Salvation Army.