When disaster strikes around the world, one of the immediate needs is shelter, for the people who have lost their homes. The Rotary Club of Yorkton is raising money for Shelterbox Canada, a non-profit organization which responds to disasters world wide by providing tents and tools to the people affected.
The Shelterbox Sleepover, which will be held in Yorkton May 12 and 13 in Western Financial City Centre Park, with a pancake breakfast wrapping it up on May 14, will see Rotarians from the area spending two nights in examples of the tents used by Shelterbox Canada.
Terry Tyson, president of the Rotary Club of Yorkton, says that the packages sent to areas affected by disaster change depending on the needs. Typically, the packages include things like blankets, a stove, water purification equipment and tools like shovels, but that can change. In Japan's recent earthquake, for example, the focus was providing the tents themselves, as tools were easily accessed in the country.
"It's stuff that can really make the difference between life and death in a natural disaster," Tyson says.
The idea behind the sleepover is to show exactly what it is that Shelterbox does and how the tents can save lives where people are affected by disaster.
"The charity was born of the fact that some people who were Rotarians that were involved in humanitarian aid noticed a need for it. There's food and there's other kinds of aid coming in, but there wasn't shelter, and some of these tools that can restore self-sufficiency," Tyson says.
Over the course of the event, Tyson says the goal is to raise enough to buy at least two tents, which typically cost about $1,000 a piece. Rotarians participating will be at the park and will happily accept donations. Tyson encourages people to come down, especially for Saturday morning's pancake breakfast.
