From: District Governor Gordon
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Subject: Rotarians distributing ShelterBox supplies to assist families impacted by
Dear District Governor,
As a Rotary Project Partner, part of our immediate response to Super Storm Sandy was to reach out to the most-impacted districts to check on Rotarians and learn what their communities were experiencing in the wake of the disaster. It give us great pleasure to share with you the partnerships that have emerged since that time. With the “service above self” ethos very much in their hearts, Rotarians have joined forces with ShelterBox to provide shelter, warmth and dignity to vulnerable families in the Northeast United States.
One of the first calls we placed following Sandy was to District Governor Joan Vas of #7500. She along with Rotarians from District #7640 were later able to provide us with information on impacted communities and anticipated needs. A s the disaster response evolved, it became clear thousands of families were in need of supplies to help protect them from cold temperatures and establish a sense of normalcy. A ShelterBox Response Team member was deployed to New Jersey to work with Rotarians, assess need and coordinate the distribution of supplies.
Joan describes her experiences here: “For many years, District 7500 has always responded generously to disasters around the world in the form of donations to ShelterBox. I am very pleased to see that in our time of need, ShelterBox responded immediately. To make a call to ShelterBox on Tuesday and to have a team on the ground on Thursday with a significant order placed by Friday is amazing. On behalf of all of the Rotarians in the affected regions of Eastern New Jersey of Districts 7500 and 7640, we cannot thank ShelterBox enough!” –District Governor Joan Vas 2012-2013
Rotarians from Joan’s district and that of neighboring District Governor John Andrews are distributing ShelterBox aid to families in their communities. With the help of Rotarians, ShelterBox provided more than 6,000 people in New York and New Jersey with blankets, knit hats, gloves, scarves, hygiene kits and children’s activity packs.
Many thanks to the Rotary clubs and districts who make contributions to ShelterBox to ensure we have the supplies and trained volunteers required to immediately respond to the needs of families impacted by disaster. In addition to our efforts in the U.S., we are actively distributing aid to Syrian refugees in Iraq, flooding survivors in Uganda and Nigeria, families made homeless by an earthquake in Guatemala and those impacted by Hurricane Sandy in Haiti. To learn more about our current activity around the world, please click here- < a href=”http://www.shelterboxusa.org/deployments.php” target=”_blank” style=”color: #1155cc;”>http://www.shelterboxusa.org/deployments.php
As a Rotary Project Partner, we are proud to partner with Rotarians in the field both and here and abroad to provide shelter, warmth and dignity to those in their greatest hour of need.
Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.
Regards,
Emily
Emily Sperling
President
ShelterBox USA
c: 941-387-4710
e: esperling@shelterboxusa.org
w: www.shelterboxusa.org
8374 Market St. #203
Lakewood Ranch, FL. 34202
