SUPPORTERS of the worldwide catastrophe reduction charity, ShelterBox, have raised over £11,000 for individuals around the globe left with out shelter after catastrophe by participating in its annual Tent for Lent problem.
Around 300 individuals supported the fundraising marketing campaign this 12 months. It encourages individuals to offer one thing up, tackle a problem, organise a fundraiser, and donate the money raised or saved to assist individuals uprooted from their houses due to catastrophe and battle.
People from all around the UK have been getting inventive of their efforts, giving up their beds, litter selecting, and operating miles.
One supporter from Tower Hamlets taxed herself on each leisure exercise throughout Lent, in a inventive option to collect funds. Cinema tickets, restaurant meals, and takeaway coffees all incurred a ‘leisure tax’ which was then donated to the charity.
Grandmother of 5, Alison Jones, mentioned:
“The leisure tax idea is something that a few friends and I developed a while back. I’ve been doing it during Lent for around 30 years, each time for a different charity. This year I chose ShelterBox.
“I am a strong believer that leisure activities are a luxury and it’s a luxury that displaced people around the world don’t have. I also believe that a sense of home and shelter is a necessity, so the work ShelterBox does is so important and I’m glad I’m able to help.”
The Cornwall-based charity helps individuals around the globe who’ve been displaced by battle or catastrophe. By offering shelter help, and different important objects like photo voltaic lights, mosquito nets, and kitchen units, ShelterBox helps individuals to rebuild and recuperate after catastrophe.
As effectively as donating money from her leisure actions, Alison, who has a number of sclerosis, walked a mile each day for 40 days to boost further funds for the charity by way of sponsorship.
Alison, 67, continued:
“When my children were young the leisure tax used to be a lot more expensive with Scouts subscriptions, swimming clubs, and lots of family outings. That’s why I decided to take on the walking challenge. It was also an opportunity to ask people for donations, and to ultimately spread the word about ShelterBox and the issues people around the world are facing.”
Family and buddies donated to Alison’s walk, together with a £5 donation from her oldest grandchild, Noah. Nearly £700 was raised from each challenges which is able to assist assist ShelterBox and its programmes around the globe.
Another supporter set herself the problem of swimming 7,166 metres; one metre for each mile between her home in High Wycombe and Damascus, Syria, and again once more.
Sarah Wanigasooriya, an occupational therapist working for the NHS, needed to tackle a swimming problem with a distance that was important for ShelterBox and for her personal bodily skills.
The charity has been supporting individuals in Syria since 2012, responding to battle and extra not too long ago these displaced by highly effective earthquakes.
Sarah, 47, who has delicate cerebral palsy, swam each week throughout Lent and thru her JustGiving web page raised £765.
John Stanbury, group fundraising assistant at ShelterBox, mentioned:
“We’re grateful to all our amazing fundraisers. It’s been so wonderful hearing about the different ways people have been involved and it’s humbling to see so many coming together to support people they will never meet.
“Together we can celebrate the impact made by emergency shelter after communities are pulled apart by disaster or conflict. Wherever the need is greatest, whether in response to the flooding in Malawi, the conflict in Gaza or displacement caused by famine in Somalia, we can make a life-changing difference.”
Other fundraisers embrace a lady from Cornwall, who accomplished 40 days of litter selecting, cleansing up her native space in addition to supporting the charity. Alongside her canine, Groot, Jenn Sandiford went litter selecting rain or shine and raised over £700.
Another donation got here from Richard Hunt from East Sussex, who raised over £4,000 in a sponsored campout. Heavy rains, chilly temperatures, and some eventful nights weren’t sufficient to place the churchwarden off, spending seven nights tenting exterior his church in assist of the marketing campaign.
Since it was based in 2000, ShelterBox has supported over 2.5 million individuals in round 100 international locations.
The charity is at present responding in Malawi the place heavy rain has induced extreme flooding, damaging and washing away houses. A ShelterBox response crew has been working with native individuals and CARE Malawi to distribute tarpaulins, instruments, water filters, photo voltaic lights, and different important objects.
ShelterBox can also be responding to battle in Gaza, Mozambique, Cameroon, and Yemen.
People wanting to seek out out extra about ShelterBox can achieve this by visiting: ShelterBox.org.
