Friday, January 22, 2010
Haiti Fundraising
With the overwhelming success of last weeks fundraising effort in front of Western Foods (thanks to Western for the hot dog donation)where we managed to raise over $2600.00, we are going to try again this weekend. Another hot dog sale will take place in front of Western from 10 - 2 on Saturday and then from 11 - 3 on Sunday. This weekend we will also have a collection point in front of Village Foods and possibly other locations too! With the help of some District of Sooke staff and the Rotary Club, we hope to be able to blanket the area with volunteer fundraisers and double our money. We have decided to use the money to buy shelter boxes (a Rotary project) with the funds collected. Each of these boxes holds shelter and enough supplies to look after a family of ten for up to six months. With the improvements in the Canadian dollar, these boxes have been reduced to $1000.00 each. The Shelter Box program started in the UK and now has a Canadian division that is based in Victoria. As such, I contacted the director and he will be bringing a shelter box to the fire hall this upcoming Thursday for us to look at. If it seems suitable, we may look at acquiring some of these to supplement our newly formed ESS program as a means of providing shelter to Sooke residents if we are faced with a disaster. (No, we are not using the fundraising money for this) Anyway, if you want to see what a Shelter Box is all about, come by the main fire station at 7:00 pm on Thursday.
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I have spoken with a few people about these boxes and they dont think they are a good idea for Haiti because what they really need their is food and water. Some of the things in the boxes wouldnt be of use like the sleeping blankets for example because its so warm down there. Plus it could take a month to get down their because it has to be shipped and pass customs. My suggestion is to talk with the Red Cross and see what they say before you spend thousands of dollars that could be better spent? Not trying to rain on your parade I am just trying to help spend the $$$ most effectively. A thousand dollars could go a long way if buying food and water?
ReplyDeleteNeil: I will look into your suggestion, however I know that they have already shipped 3300 boxes into Haiti and they are being well used. Boxes are not all the same for each country. They are packed to suit the climate and needs of each emergency. We will have a better idea of what is included when they come out on Thursday to show us a sample. This is our opportunity to see for ourselves if this is the best use of the money.
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