Rotary Club of Central Bucks
Help Central Bucks Rotary Send Vital Supplies to Japan through Shelter Box
EVENT DETAILS
Central Bucks Rotary is holding a fundraiser on Tuesday, March 29th from 7pm – 10pm at the Oscar
Martin Room upstairs at the Moose Lodge. Funds raised will go to Rotary efforts in Japan including
ShelterBox.
The event is a great time to socialize and network with others in the community. Food will be
provided by the Central Bucks Rotary, with entertainment by the local band “The Waltons”.
An example of the Shelter Box emergency shelter will be available at the event, as well as
representatives from the Shelter Box organization.
Additionally, funds will be raised through some great silent auction items, including:
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a property spring clean up and mulching performed by the CB Rotary team
$250 in Services from Burdick's Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
custom designed facebook pages for your business from Social Marketing Sherpa
BKWG band performance at your house party
And much more!
A percentage of the proceeds from the cash bar will be donated.
** No registration is required to attend the event. Donations will be accepted at the door. **
Can't make it to the event, but want to donate? Go to http://bit.ly/hoRrSR to donate online!
Japanese authorities request ShelterBoxes for the north
Yamadamachi, Kamaishi, Rikuzentakata and
Ofunato.
Local government authorities in Japan’s
Iwate Prefecture have requested 500
ShelterBoxes to provide emergency shelter
and lifesaving supplies for families who lost
their homes in last week’s tsunami.
100 ShelterBoxes have been requested for
each of the following five cities: Miyako,
The ShelterBox Response Team (SRT)
operating in the country are working in
cooperation with the British Embassy,
British military personnel and the US
Rotary Club of Central Bucks
military to overcome the logistical
challenges they are facing.
It is a seven-hour journey by road from
Tokyo to the Iwate Prefecture and with fuel
shortages, heavy snow, freezing
temperatures and the ongoing nuclear
situation there are a range of obstacles to
overcome in order to ensure aid reaches
the families who need it most.
‘Every disaster is different but this one is
certainly posing a unique set of
circumstances for us to deal with,’ said SRT
member and ShelterBox International
Director Lasse Petersen who has been in
Japan since last Saturday.
‘We mobilised on day one because we knew
there would be a need for the provision of
emergency shelter. The specific needs
request means we can now begin our
distribution and we continue to be ready to
respond in whatever capacity is required
from us.’
ShelterBox responds instantly to disasters
all around the world delivering aid as
quickly as possible to the people who need
it most.
The latest reports from Japan say the
official death toll is now 6,405 with
thousands more missing.
‘In the Iwate Prefecture alone close to
50,000 people are in temporary shelter,
more the 10,000 are isolated and 4,000 are
missing,’ added ShelterBox Head of
Operations John Leach.
‘We have close to 1,000 ShelterBoxes either
in Japan or on their way and another 5,000
ready to move. The Japanese government is
now focusing on getting assistance to the
people sheltering in evacuation centres.
‘The freezing temperatures, damaged
infrastructure and severe lack of fuel are all
concerns but we are confident of
overcoming these barriers and getting aid
to people who are in desperate need.’
The earthquake which struck Japan last
week and triggered the subsequent tsunami
was initially recorded as 8.9 in magnitude
but was later upgraded to 9.0. An
earthquake of this magnitude is, globally, a
one in twenty year event. It caused a
sudden vertical motion of the seafloor,
displacing a huge mass of seawater which
caused the tsunami to form. When the
tsunami reached Japan’s coast, the waves
were 10 to 15m high and traveling at
speeds of around 500 km per hour.
Experts ShelterBox has spoken to say that,
while it is impossible to predict
earthquakes, they cannot rule out the
possibility of another earthquake above 8.0
in magnitude striking off Japan’s east coast
in the near future.
Rotary Club of Central Bucks
ABOUT SHELTER BOX
Founded in 2000 by a member of Rotary International, Shelter Box is a non-profit organization that
responds immediately to the needs of homeless and displaced disaster victims with boxes
containing large tents, food, water purification systems, and other basic necessities. Delivered on
the ground by highly trained response teams, each Shelter Box can provide for approximately ten
people in need for an extended period of time. For more information, please visit
www.shelterbox.org
Each box costs $1,000, which includes all materials, packing, storage and distribution to individual
recipients. ShelterBox Response Teams distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local
organizations, international aid agencies.
Each 110-pound ShelterBox supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and
lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The box contents are tailored
depending on the nature and location of the disaster, and generally contain a tent, cooking stove,
thermal blankets/mat/tarps, purification tablets, water containers, tools, ropes, dinner ware and
children's school supplies and activity kits.
ABOUT CENTRAL BUCKS ROTARY
The Central Bucks Rotary is a new chapter of Rotary International, the world’s first service
organization with over 1.2 million members across the globe. Club members enthusiastically
embrace the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self,” and are fulfilled by directly helping charitable
organizations, individuals and families in Central Bucks County as well as contributing to Rotary
International’s humanitarian efforts around the world.
The Club meets at the Oscar Martin Room at the Moose Lodge in Doylestown, PA every Tuesday
evening at 6:00 pm. People interested in joining the Central Bucks Rotary or volunteering for a Club
event may contact Eric Lepping at Eric@SocialMarketingSherpa.com.