Shelterbox is an international Rotary managed disaster relief charity that provides shelter, warmth and dignity to those who have been affected by disasters worldwide. Rotary delivers boxes of aid, each of which provides an extended family with quality survival equipment and shelter to use while they rebuild their homes. Rotary Shelterbox response teams accompany the boxes into the disaster zones to ensure efficient delivery to those in need of assistance. The Shelterbox goal is to help 50,000 families every year. Since 2000, the Rotary project has sent out more than 127,700 boxes.

The members of the new provisional Rotary Club of Greater Springfield have challenged themselves to raise the funds to purchase a Shelterbox for AUD$1,000, this being the new clubs first community service project. The club Shelterbox coordinator Lyndal Kisnorbo said she was excited to learn that each box can be tracked by its unique reference number so the club will be able to find out where and when the clubs box has been sent.

At the local clubs last meeting Shelterbox director Greville Easte gave the club members an informative presentation on the Rotary humanitarian initiative which has been responding to earthquakes, volcanoes, flood bring essential lifesaving aid to Syria, Myanmar, Haiti, Somalia, China including Tasmania and Bundaberg just to name a few.

The Provisional Rotary Club of Greater Springfield, which held its first meeting last month, is seeking to build its membership prior to charter in order to make a contribution to the local community and to communities throughout the world through the likes of Shelterbox Disaster Relief and other international programs and service opportunities.

The Provisional Rotary Club of Greater Springfield holds its meetings every Wednesday evening at 6.30pm at Springfield Lakes Community Center Room 1. For enquiries, contact Club Secretary Eva Lewis on 0408528085, visit us on Facebook or email us on greaterspringfieldrotary@hotmail.com .