Global Support


We are proud project partners with Rotary International, a global community of 1.4 million neighbours, friends and community leaders. Their aim is to create positive, lasting change in communities at home and all over the world.

The global support from the Rotary International network is the cornerstone upon which ShelterBox is built.

In April 2000, the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall, England adopted ShelterBox as its millennium project. Little did they know that it would become the largest club project in the world, responding to disasters and conflict across the globe and providing emergency shelter to over 1.5 million people.

Rotary has been instrumental in our growth and is the cement that binds us together. Since ShelterBox was founded, we have grown from one club’s adopted project to Rotary International’s only Project Partner in disaster relief. Their global network has been key in our international growth.

At present, all ShelterBox affiliates have been set up by Rotarians or Rotaractors and the growth has been phenomenal.

In 2012, ShelterBox became Rotary International’s first Project Partner and remains the only disaster relief charity.

By working together with Rotary, we are able to collaborate and combine resources to ensure that we can support more communities in desperate need of shelter after disaster.

Rotarians and Rotary groups across the world support us in a variety of ways, from raising funds to providing support on the ground during our response to a disaster. This enables us to work more effectively and reach more communities around the world.

Mutual benefits for both organizations are enormous. We receive incredible support from Rotary and, equally, we are acting as a catalyst in encouraging more people the world over to become involved with their local club.

ShelterBox can provide support as a club’s international project via speakers and supplemental material.

On the ground


At any given time, 365 days a year, ShelterBox response teams are on the ground, supporting people to recover after disaster and conflict all over the world.

Rotary is with us every step of the way.

Rotarians will often be the people who ensure our aid can be delivered into a country by acting as consignees. These essential acts mean we can deliver aid to people in need as quickly as possible.

More often than not, it will be Rotarians and clubs who are the first point of contact for the ShelterBox Response Team members when they arrive in a country that has been devastated by a disaster.

They provide support with everything from transport, translators, local knowledge, even a bed and a hot meal.

This logistical support on ShelterBox deployments is just as critical as the generous financial support we receive from Rotarians and clubs worldwide.

The fundraising efforts by Rotarians make up a significant proportion of donations received by ShelterBox. Alongside this, clubs provide invaluable support to our field operations.

By following us on  Facebook, Instagram or  Twitter, you’ll see where Rotary support is making a difference right now.

The partnership between Rotary and ShelterBox has provided a place of refuge to people facing some of the most difficult and uncertain moments in their lives.

John Hewko,  – General Secretary of Rotary International

WHAT ROTARY CLUB PRESIDENTS AROUND THE WORLD ARE SAYING


Ace Robin, President of the Mataram Rotary Club, Indonesia, was caught up in the deadly earthquakes that hit Lombok in 2018.

Her home survived, but many around her were destroyed. Through an agreement with the government-led response, Ace’s club was central to bringing ShelterBox aid to Indonesia. Thanks to their support, vulnerable members of the community received vital emergency shelter. Ace said:

“Working with ShelterBox taught us a lot – they showed us how to build shelter and select families to help. It also gave us a chance to show what Rotary is to local people”.

 

After floods triggered by Cyclone Idai left tens of thousands homeless in Malawi in 2019, Rotary members connected ShelterBox with communities in the Blantyre region, helping them understand local needs and culture. Members helped deliver emergency shelter to almost 2,000 families. And ShelterBox supported the Rotary Club of Limbe to join the wider disaster response, enabling the club to deliver food to communities whose entire crops had been destroyed by the floods. Rotary Club of Limbe President Eric Chinkada said:

“It was a great experience to work with ShelterBox. We have not only walked a mile in reaching out to the many Malawians who faced hardship, but we restored confidence in the displaced people that all was not lost”.

See how the partnership works


In this video, you’ll hear from Rotarians around the world who have worked with ShelterBox on the ground. Listen as they explain how both organisations benefit from our partnership.