ROTARY CLUB OF CONCORD SENDS SHELTERBOXES TO HAITI

The Rotary Club of Concord was just embarking on a technology project to assist the St. Joseph's Schools in Haiti when the earthquake struck. While that project continues, the earthquake emergency took immediate precedence. Under the leadership of Concord Rotarian Paul D'Oliveira, the Haiti Recovery Committee was quickly organized to recommend an appropriate response and the Rotary Club is now preparing to purchase a minimum of 5 Shelter Boxes (at the cost of $1,000 each) to be delivered to Haiti as soon as possible. The Rotary Club is seeking donations from members and the community at large. If the Shelter Box outreach (detailed below) appeals to you as a practical, focused way to help, please contribute by sending a check to the Concord Rotary Charitable Endowment, Inc. Specify Shelter Boxes in the memo line and mail to the Rotary Club of Concord, P O Box 455, Concord, MA 01742. What's in a ShelterBox?
Each ShelterBox is a large, rugged, green plastic container that holds a 10-person tent and a range of other equipment. In general, typical box contents include: 
 • Thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets • Waterproof ponchos and bin bags • A multi-fuel stove that can burn anything from diesel to old paint! • Cooking pans, utensils, bowls and mugs • Collapsible water containers and water purification tablets • A basic tool kit – hammer, axe, saw, pliers, hoe head, trenching shovel, rope etc • A small, children's pack containing drawing books, crayons, pens etc. However, a range of equipment is kept in stock. This allows ShelterBox to be flexible and adjust the contents of the box according to local conditions and what is most urgently needed. They are also individually numbered so each box can be tracked and donors can know its final destination. Shelter Box is a grassroots Rotary club project which has rapidly grown to an international level. 
The Shelter Box project was conceived and developed by Tom Henderson of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, Cornwall District, in Great Britain. Struck with the urgent world-wide need for a self-contained emergency shelter unit when disaster occurs, Tom designed a tent, researched suppliers and, through trial and error, developed the Shelter Box.. The international relief agency Feed the Children, has called Shelter Box 'the best disaster relief tool they have seen in their 20 years of experience'. 
ShelterBox USA became a non profit 501(C)(3) organization, with a Board of Directors, in 2005. To learn more and see Shelter Boxes being used in Haiti, visit www.shelterboxusa.org To learn more about the Rotary Club of Concord, please visit our website at www.concordmarotary.org and visit our blog, concordrotary.blogspot.com. End