Rotary Club of Mineral Wells on Wednesday welcomed Brian Glenn, above right, for his program on ShelterBox. He is pictured with program chair Dan Steele.
ShelterBox is a cutting-edge charity that hand-delivers emergency shelter for families left homeless by natural disaster and conflict. Rotary International is a major ShelterBox supporter and partner, and our club donates $1,000 annually to ShelterBox.
Brian is a Rotarian, a member of the Denton-Lake Cities chapter within our District 5790. He has been a longtime ShelterBox volunteer, having gone on a number of trips to provide ShelterBoxes to people in need.
Brian said currently there are 85 million people worldwide displaced from their homes, many of them in under-developed or remote areas with very few resources.
He said typically ShelterBox has presence around the world, and typically responds when at least 200 families or individuals are in need of shelter, though he said they can also respond to smaller relief situations.
Because disasters and needs vary, ShelterBox provides both ShelterBox kits, sturdy, green plastic containers packed with a sturdy shelter – much stronger than a tent built and tested to survive high winds and extreme weather conditions and last years if needed – large enough to accommodate families. They also contain hardware and tools and life-sustaining essentials, like solar lights, cooking sets, blankets and water purification equipment – even activity sets for children.
Also available are ShelterKits packed with vital hardware including toolkits, ropes, fasteners and heavy-duty tarps that can be used to build a shelter, repair damaged buildings and begin to rebuild a home. These kits can be customized to suit the location and needs. Sometimes they include corrugated iron to help make resilient roofing, or even room dividers and mattresses to make warehouses habitable – whatever it takes to help people recover from disaster.
Brian will have a ShelterBox display at our pancake supper on Thursday, Dec. 12, at Mineral Wells High School. Anyone who would like more information, to volunteer or make a donation can go to https://www.shelterboxusa.org/.
Rotary Club of Mineral Wells meets every Wednesday at noon at Palo Pinto General Hospital for lunch, socialization, updates on club news and events and a program of interest.
For information on becoming a Rotarian and joining us in putting “Service Above Self,” visit our website at mineralwellsrotary.org or contact a member.
There will be no meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 27. We wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.