BILL TUSZYNSKI - SHELTERBOX
Last week, the Club welcomed BILL TUSZYNSKI who gave a presentation on SHELTERBOX, a emergency relief program originated by a Rotary club in Wales, which then came a part of Rotary International, and continues as a non-profit affiliate with Rotary today. With over 120 million people currently displace around the world, SHELTERBOX acts as one of the first responders to disasters by bringing their kits containing tenting, cooking equipment, food, water purifiers, and many more life sustaining items to the stricken areas. They serve over 300,000 people a year with their disaster relief.
Bill presented a video showing some of the disaster responses around the world, and stated that often, SHELTERBOX with its Rotary connections, is able to cut through the red tape and permits imposed in many countries, and thus can be very early with the needed support. Also contributing to their success is that they preposition the boxes in several strategic places, such as Panama, The Philippines, Dubai, Turkey, Belgium and England.
The assistance given in the U.S. is more financial rather than the kits.
Thank you Bill, for this enlightening talk.