Another £5,000 donation to ShelterBox, the international disaster-relief charity and Rotary’s global partner for emergency shelter.

The Club has supported ShelterBox with annual donations for many years. Members agreed to make this further contribution after seeing the impact of the devastating flash floods in northern Nepal, where homes, roads, bridges and vital infrastructure were destroyed in late August.

The donation has been made as unrestricted funding. Although it was prompted by the Nepal disaster, ShelterBox will use the money wherever it is needed most in its work around the world. This flexible approach is important: it enables the organisation to prepare for and respond rapidly to emergencies, delivering shelter and essential items according to the particular needs of affected communities.

ShelterBox’s current Nepal response demonstrates this work in action. Working with local partners, including Rotary, Islamic Relief and People In Need, it has provided around 1,000 households with tarpaulins and essential household supplies such as sleeping mats, ropes and pillows. Further aid has arrived in Nepal, including family tents, solar lights, high-thermal blankets and winterisation kits, to help families as temperatures fall.

ShelterBox has advised that its next phase will support a further 1,000 households, while longer-term recovery assistance is also being considered. The scale of need remains severe in remote areas where damage to roads and bridges has made access particularly challenging.

Morven MacGillivray, ShelterBox’s Rotary Engagement Officer, has thanked the Club for its continuing support and confirmed that the gift will strengthen ShelterBox’s ability to help families affected by disaster wherever the need is greatest.

The Club’s capacity to make donations such as this depends on the support of the public, volunteers and local businesses through its charitable fundraising. Without you all this would not be possible. The annual Vintage Weekend and Easter Monday Duck Race both contributed to a successful fundraising year, allowing the Club’s Charitable Trust to support local, national and international good causes.

We greatly admire the work they do and are proud to continue our long-standing relationship with ShelterBox and to help ensure that families who lose their homes through disaster can receive safety, shelter and the means to begin rebuilding their lives.

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