Members of the Rotary Club of North Bay and their families generated over $7,300.00 for humanitarian aid to be directed to the people of Ukraine this week. It was the culmination of a remarkably short (14 day) internal fundraising campaign with a special focus on the provision of emergency shelter. Internationally, Rotary is a Global Partner with ShelterBox International (a Non-Government Organization which provides humanitarian aid to victims of natural disasters and human conflict). The donation, which will be made to ShelterBox Canada, will be directed to a current national campaign to benefit refugees from the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
“Efforts such as this reinforce Rotary’s commitment to promote peace and to serve humanity” noted Club President Bob Cunningham. He added that the speed of fundraising is a tribute to the awareness of Rotarians to the seriousness of the crisis and the numbers of refugees in Eastern Europe at present.
ShelterBox Committee Chair Jeff Celentano expressed his gratitude to Club members and the impact of their giving. “With the cost of a complete ShelterBox tent kit of $1,200.00CDN, our members have raised the equivalent of over six complete ShelterBox kits. Each tent could house a family of eight persons and provide them with many necessities for daily living.”
Celentano maintains regular contact with personnel at ShelterBox Canada’s office in order to monitor the progress of the donation and ShelterBox assessment teams are on the ground in Poland in order to best determine where and when the aid can be used.
For more information visit - https://www.shelterboxcanada.org/the-ukraine-crisis-explained/.