Today I had the pleasure of meeting a quite amazing couple, Huw and Carolyn Thomas of Cornwall, England. Of course, I wouldn’t have met them without Rotary. I went to volunteer some time today at a hot dog sale to promote Carolyn and Huw’s adventure to cycle 10,000 miles in order to promote the Shelter Box program.
If you haven’t heard about this program, it is another phenomenal way Rotary is making an impact in improving life amid horrible circumstances. Individual and/or organizations purchase a big green box (about the volume of a dishwasher). Inside this box is a huge tent, pots and pans, dishes, blankets, school supplies for a family of 10 to 12 to live for a year. The boxes cost $1000 to purchase. They are warehoused on several continents, ready for disaster. When a disaster strikes, like the earthquake in Haiti or the floods in Pakistan, Shelter Boxes are immediately dispatched from the closest warehouse, along with a team to ensure they are going where they are needed. Recently the three Rotary Clubs of Salmon Arm (Salmon Arm, Salmon Arm Daybreak, Salmon Arm Shuswap) purchased 22 Shelter Boxes.
Look closely the next time you see photos from a disaster zone: in the tent city that provides not only shelter, but hope and dignity, you may see a Rotary logo with the name Salmon Arm underneath it.
Shawn L. Bird 
sheltering the world May 13, 2011
Tags: Carolyn Thomas, Huw Thomas, postaday2011, Rotary, shelter box, tandem 10 000
Last August, a pair of British cyclists wheeled into town on a tandem bike to promote the Shelter Box program. We were the 400 mile mark on a tour that was to take Huw and Carolyn Thomas 10,000 miles around the world.
Shelter Box is an international humanitarian organization that stock piles green boxes about the size of a child’s school desk. Inside each box there are supplies for a family of ten to live following a disaster. The box is packed tight with items like a 10 person tent, blankets, school supplies, water purification and cooking utensils. The boxes are stored at strategic sites in the various continents so that they will be ready to deploy at a moment’s notice when a disaster strikes.
Since Huw and Carolyn left us, they have travelled through Western Canada and across the US. They flew home to England for Christmas and then flew to New Zealand for the next leg. They were there when Shelter Box was called upon to aid victims of the earthquake in Christchurch. Then they cycled through flood ravished Australia, seeing the boxes put to use there as well. Currently ShelterBox is deployed in Japan following the earthquake and in Colombia following floods.
Now Huw and Carolyn are in Europe and have passed the 8000 mile mark as they entered Holland this week. Their efforts to raise awareness of the ShelterBox organization has resulted in many individuals and organizations around the world sponsoring a $1000 box. Three of those boxes come from Salmon Arm, so if you are looking at photos of some disaster and see a logo for Rotary Clubs of Salmon Arm on a tent, you’ll know where our contributions ended up.
Visit Huw and Carolyn’s blog about their adventure at http://tandem10.wordpress.com
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