“In the present circumstances, no one can afford to assume that someone else will solve their problems. Every individual has a responsibility to help guide our global family in the right direction. Good wishes are not sufficient; we must become actively engaged.” -Dalai Lama

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity... it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

My initial plan was to set up "donation cans" and place them in local business but reading about all the scams and dishonest people that have already begun to take advantage of this tragic situation, I wanted there to be a way people could donate and feel safe their money is actually going to charity. 

The contents of a Shelterbox is actually quite impressive.  Included are -

• One 49 gallon box (The Shelterbox) initially the container for delivery of the materials listed below. Once delivered, can be used as water tank, food store, cot, table, etc.

• One ten-person tent, including two fabric interior privacy partitions, outer fly-sheet and repair kit. These tents are considered ‘winter suitable’ by international relief standards.

• Vinyl insulated sleeping mats and lightweight thermal blankets. More compact than sleeping bags, these mats and blankets have multiple uses. The blanket can also be fashioned to catch water, as a tarp, etc. while the mat also serves as a ground ‘table’ for meals, or tent rugs.

• One pack of 180 water purification tablets or a water purification kit; and one 5 gallon flat-pack water container (Each tablet will purify a full container of water providing 1,800 gallons of clean drinking water which should be sufficient for a family of ten for up to three months).

• Two 2.1 gallon, collapsible, plastic water carriers.

• One collapsible trenching shovel

• Rope, 164 foot

• Repellant-treated mosquito netting

• Ten PVC Ponchos/ ten HD plastic bags

• Tool kit in canvas bag: hachet, jack-knife, screwdriver, hammer, hoe head etc.

• Multi-fueled cook stove

• Eating utensils: enamel plates/cups

• Children's activity kit-simple school supplies, stickers and coloring book

The contents are under continuous review. A small stock of wind-up radios (short-wave and FM) has been obtained to substitute a sleeping bag in every tenth box should such a requirement arise.

Pretty cool huh?  :)  I had never  heard of the company until I was trying to find a way to help out those in Haiti.  There is absolute destruction in Haiti right now and I can not imagine what they are going through.  I can only hope that if something like this were to happen to me, there would be compassion in the world and people ready to help me.

Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.  If you are unable to make a donation online but would like to, I would be happy to make the donation for you. 

"We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes."  - Mr. Fred Rogers