Rotary sponsored ShelterBoxes serve disaster victims

Pictured: Sharon Miller, Guest Speaker, and Oziel Jeffries, President-Elect of Byesville Rotary.

No reading assignment for next week. Bring your dollars, the Sgt. of Arms will be bringing the trivia book.

The Board meeting has been moved to Wednesday, August 24, 12n at Plus 1 Pizza in Byesville.

The meeting date with the District Governer has changed. This change also affects the membership breakfast. More information to come.

The club voted to provide $50.00 for a memorial gift for Rom.

Keep selling tickets for the NYC Red Eye Trip. Deadline to reserve seats is Sept. 1. Seats can be reserved with a $50 deposit by the deadline date.

Sharon Miller, guest speaker, at Byesville Rotary, described the ShelterBox program to club members. She explained that ShelterBoxes, also known as “big green boxes,” were developed to be delivered to disaster sites. The boxes contain basic tools and supplies that people need for survival after a disaster hits.

The boxes are the brainchild of Tom Henderson, a Rotarian in England, who established the program in 2000. ShelterBoxes contain survival supplies to support up to 10 people. Contents include a tent, a water purifier, a cook stove and utensils, blankets, children’s activities and basic tools like shovels. The basic contents are supplemented by tools and supplies customized for the climate and the type of disaster. The distinctive green boxes are often the first aid that arrives in a disaster area.

The program depends on donations and volunteers to educate people about the program and to pack and distribute boxes. The goal of the ShelterBox program is to help at least 500,000 people every year. The cost of donating 1 box is $1000 which covers all the contents of the box and shipping.

Rotarians play a big part of the ShelterBox program. To date over 5000 Rotary clubs have participated in the program and have supplied about 50% of all boxes donated.

In 10 years, ShelterBoxes have been sent to victims of 140 disasters in 70 countries. In the United State, ShelterBoxes were sent to victims of Katrina and to survivors of the tornadoes in Arkansas. A ShelterBox Response team worked with the local Rotary Club and Boy Scout troop to distribute boxes to families who had lost everything. The ShelterBoxes provided shelter for about 50 families including 35 children,

Each box is pre-packed so that response to a disaster can be immediate. Each box given a unique number—donors can track where the box they have sponsored is sent. More information about ShelterBoxes is available at www.shelterboxusa.org.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Randy Launder, 740-801-0017