A ShelterBox is a crate that allows life to go on.
The box, distributed by volunteers such as Tom Schaafsma and Scotty Robinson of Sequim, goes out by the thousands to flood, earthquake and hurricane survivors around the globe.
It contains a 10-person tent that can withstand 100-kilometers-per-hour winds and heavy rain; 10 sleeping bags; 180 water purification tablets to provide 1,800 gallons of drinking water; repellent-treated mosquito netting; a tool kit; a cook stove and utensils; a children’s activity kit and numerous other necessities.
Schaafsma and Jim Pickett, both Sequim Sunrise Rotary Club members, have been raising money for ShelterBox shipments for years; this fiscal year could beat all, Pickett said Tuesday.
ShelterBox’s current fiscal year runs from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, and by the end of March, the Rotary region covering the Olympic Peninsula, Vancouver Island and much of Western Washington had gathered $176,000 in ShelterBox donations, Pickett said.
Clallam and Jefferson counties gave $51,000 of that.
Pickett, meantime, has been around the north Peninsula and to Seattle and the Tri-Cities talking ShelterBoxes. Since last July he’s given 38 presentations.
Chimacum High School’s Interact Club, a student group sponsored by local Rotary clubs, recently presented Pickett with $2,000, enough to ship two ShelterBoxes.
The Interact Club’s teenagers provided more than $1,500, Pickett said, while the East Jefferson Rotary Club made up the difference.
To make a donation toward ShelterBox’s work in nations across the world, contact a Rotary Club in Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Townsend or Chimacum, or visit www.Rotary.org and www.ShelterBoxUSA.org.
“Although a complete box costs $1,000, donations in any amount are appreciated,” Pickett noted.
Those wanting to know more may phone him at 360-681-4830 or e-mail jpick@wavecable.com.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.