In Gear | Rotary in Southern New Zealand In Gear - Issue 3 | Page 73
Discover more about ShelterBox
If you would like to arrange for a ShelterBox
speaker to visit your club, please contact Jackie:
T: 027 690 2262
E: [email protected]
W: www.shelterbox.org.nz
F: facebook.com/ShelterBoxNZ#
with
Jackie St John
What is the New Zealand arm of ShelterBox
responsible for?
ShelterBox has 19 global affiliates, including ShelterBox
NZ, and we are all dedicated to raising funds for, and
awareness of, disaster relief.
The continued support ShelterBox NZ receives from
Rotarians throughout New Zealand, as donors and as
ShelterBox volunteers, is invaluable to our operations
and is very much appreciated.
As chair, what are your main objectives?
To increase recognition of ShelterBox throughout New
Zealand, and publicise the awesome work we do.
To lead ShelterBox NZ to become the highest
contributing global affiliate on a population percentage
basis, which will maximise the resources available to
leave no family without shelter.
To ensure we have a great team around the board
table making good governance decisions. And we
do. We have a number of innovative and energetic
professionals, and we have valued mentorship from
past board members, and our savvy ambassadors. This
means it’s a real pleasure to work on this board.
When I hand on the role of chair, to leave ShelterBox NZ
strongly positioned to continue to grow.
Does ShelterBox have any major projects
currently on the go?
In winter, we will launch ‘Shine for ShelterBox’ – an
opportunity to host a fundraising
candlelit supper for friends and family.
When disasters strike and power lines
go down, families are left vulnerable,
wrenched away from comfort and
light. That’s why every ShelterBox we
pack includes solar lights that dispel
the dark and bring immediate safety.
As you dine for Shine, you’ll be raising
money to bring light and emergency
shelter to families.
Internationally, ShelterBox is working in partnership
with ReliefAid in Syria at camps that have become
homes for people displaced from Aleppo. The
conditions are dire – no toilets, no water and mud
everywhere. We are distributing 5000 blankets to help
combat the cold, 4000 sets of children’s clothing and
4000 pairs of jeans and jumpers, 1000 tarpaulins and
4000 20-litre water carriers. Our solar lamps provide
safety in the dark desert nights; hammers and fixings,
duct tape and rope help repair shelter.
And, in just the past few weeks, Shelterbox has also
answered an SOS from Rotarians and the Red Cross
in Colombia, in the wake of floods and landslides that
have left hundreds dead and missing.
When did you first become involved in
Rotary, and what’s your journey been?
I joined the Dunedin Rotary Club in 2005. I have
been proud to serve my club as Youth director, club
president and trustee of our club trusts. My district
involvement includes serving as assistant governor,
chair (now committee member) of the Rotary Australia
New Zealand Student Exchange Committee, district
director of RNZWCS Ltd, and as Group Study Exchange
team leader to Texas.
Rotary has provided me with massive personal
development opportunities, for which I am truly
grateful. And, there are always fun new adventures in
Rotary – this year my family was introduced to the joys
of being a Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) host family for
the first (and probably not last) time!