At local and national Rotary Club gatherings, Clarkston Rotarian Mary Sloan-Lichty noticed a large tent and camping gear.
Asking about its purpose, she learned it was the contents of a ShelterBox, one of thousands that could be packed up for quick shipping to disaster sites around the world.
She also learned there was no official ShelterBox representative in the area.
“I thought, I could do that,” she said.
Now she takes a ShelterBox sample and video to community and service groups throughout the Lower Peninsula and into Ontario, explaining the program and signing up sponsors.
Each green, 40.7-gallon box contains a 10 person tent, sleeping bags, blankets, cooking supplies, water containers, purification tablets and other essentials. The gear is adjusted for each disaster ? mosquito nets in tropical environments, thick sleeping bags for cold weather ? and is first rate, said Rotarian Jeff Lichty, Mary’s husband.
“I talked to some Boy Scouts, and they were impressed with the quality of the stove,” he said. “It will burn anything liquid and flammable.”
When called by aid organizations, the ShelterBox Trust, a non-profit organization, sends response teams with hundreds or thousands of boxes. Each is designed to shelter 10 people. For victims of a disaster, even the box is vital, Sloan-Lichty said.
“They use the box for lots of things ? as a bathtub, for storage, as a bed,” she said.
Since the program began in 2000, they have helped more than half a million people. More than a thousand boxes were sent for Hurricane Katrina relief, almost 6,000 to Iraq and Afghanistan, 600 to Bangladesh, and thousands more all over the world.
“It’s just a great mission,” said Terry Minton, Rotary sergeant at arms. “It provides help right away, providing temporary housing.”
ShelterBoxes is a good project for local organizations, including school service-learning groups, Lichty said.
Donation for a box is $1,000. The donor organization’s logo goes on its box, and it can track where it goes.
ShelterBox began as a Rotary project in Cornwall, England, in 2000. Tom Henderson, a retired naval officer, noticed medical supplies and food usually arrive quickly at a disaster, but shelter doesn’t. His idea was to put together a box of essential items, including tent, sleeping bags, blankets, cooking utensils, tools, and stove, for quick shipping. The project includes affiliates in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Germany. More than 50,000 boxes have been shipped so far.
ShelterBox USA is a non-profit disaster relief program administered by the Rotary Clubs of Lakewood Ranch, Fla., and Helston-Lizard in Cornwall. It is supported by grassroots efforts of individuals, and service and community groups, schools, and corporate and private foundations.
For more information, call 941-747-8500 or check www.shelterboxusa.org.
Contact Mary Sloan-Lichty at marymsloan@comcast.net.