| Founder(s) | Tom Henderson |
|---|---|
| Type | humanitarian aid charity |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Area served | worldwide |
| Focus | disaster relief |
| Mission | humanitarian aid |
| Motto | Shelter - Warmth - Dignity |
ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity that provides portable refuge to disaster victims around the world. Since 2001, it has worked in more than 45 countries, supplying aid to more than 600,000 people, and delivers emergency shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disaster worldwide.[1]
Each box supplies families with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The contents are tailored to the nature and location of the disaster.
ShelterBox Response Teams distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local organisations, international aid agencies and Rotary clubs worldwide, Rotary International.[2]
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ShelterBox was founded by Tom Henderson, OBE, a Rotarian and former Royal Navy search and rescue diver, in the Cornish town of Helston.[3] He believed that traditional first aid response, which concentrates on food and medicine, helped people survive the immediate aftermath of disasters but did not help them rebuild afterward. He formed ShelterBox with the intention of filling in this gap.[4]
The first consignment of 143 boxes was sent to earthquake victims of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. Over the next three years the project matured and by the end of 2004 nearly 2,600 boxes had been dispatched, following 16 major disasters. The company significantly expanded its work in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
As of 2009, ShelterBox had provided help to more than one million people.[3]
In 2010, the Australian and Canadian branches of ShelterBox split from the main organization and formed new organizations called Disaster Aid Australia and Disaster Aid Canada, respectively.[5] However, new teams in Australia and Canada were immediately put in place and the charity's work was unaffected by the breakaway groups.[6]
Currently, ShelterBox has branches in the United States, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Luxemburg, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, South Africa, Portugal, Sweden, Indonesia and the Philippines, along with a branch associated with the Scouts.
After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, ShelterBox provided assistance to about 1,600 families in the disaster region.[7]
ShelterBox has tracking systems to monitor weather systems around the globe and anticipate the likely scale of hurricanes and cyclones. In addition, an earthquake alert system gives immediate notice of any seismic activity that could result in a humanitarian disaster. ShelterBox has strong relationships with international aid agencies and Rotary clubs worldwide who also relay information when they become aware of an urgent need for shelter.
ShelterBox aims to get the first shipment of boxes dispatched to a disaster area within 2–3 days where a ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) meets it. Often ShelterBox is the first outside aid agency on the ground.
ShelterBox relies entirely on donations to make their work possible. About half of the funds come direct from the UK public, the rest is raised by international affiliates. A tracking system allows people and groups making donations to track when and where the boxes purchased by their donations are sent.
In August 2007 HRH The Duchess of Cornwall became the charity’s President and Royal Patron, following her visit to the Helston HQ that summer.[8]
Starting works closely with the Rotary club, and has grown to become the largest Rotary Club project in the world, with affiliates in eighteen countries as of August, 2011. The latest affiliate being ShelterBox Philippines. Rotarian support currently contributes an estimated 50% of the organization's donations. Around 5,000 clubs worldwide have supported ShelterBox since it was launched. Recognising this worldwide support from the Rotary community, ShelterBox was designated as a Global Rotary Club Project in 2009.[3]
In May 2009 ShelterBox launched an official partnership with The Scout Association. This relationship offers the opportunity to engage scouts with worldwide issues such as natural disasters, man-made conflict and humanitarian aid, encouraging groups to contribute positively to a global society. For example, Scout groups joined the ShelterBox organization in its response to the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake in Italy, as well as the violent protests in east Kenya in 2008. In August 2011, at the World Scout Jamboree held at Rinkaby/Kristianstad, Sweden, ShelterBox France entered into an official partnership with the les Scouts et Guides de France.