Press Release

The Duchess of Cornwall becomes ShelterBox President

20th August 2007

The Duchess of Cornwall is to become President of ShelterBox, the Cornwall-based disaster relief charity set up by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard.

The announcement of a Royal Patron – thought to be a first for a Rotary project in the UK – follows an official visit in July, when The Duchess toured ShelterBox’s premises in Helston and met many of the volunteers who make the charity’s work possible.

Since beginning work in 2001, ShelterBox has rapidly developed into a highly effective humanitarian aid agency that has raised £15 million and sent emergency help to 33 countries. It is also believed to now be the biggest club project in the history of Rotary.

On 8th August, the charity reached a major milestone when a consignment of aid sent to help victims of monsoon floods in Nepal brought the total number of people assisted by the charity to an estimated 500,000.

ShelterBox founder and chief executive Tom Henderson said: “We are absolutely delighted and extremely honoured that Her Royal Highness has agreed to become the President of ShelterBox.

“Our first contact with The Duchess was last autumn when she was on an official visit to Pakistan with The Prince of Wales. One of our volunteer teams was in Kashmir at the same time, delivering aid to earthquake victims.

“Our ShelterBox Response Team met the Royal party and had the opportunity to explain about our work. As a result, Her Royal Highness expressed an interest in coming to visit our headquarters here in Helston.”

ShelterBox specialises in providing emergency accommodation and other survival essentials to disaster victims. The aid is delivered in pre-packaged kits – the ‘ShelterBox’ – each designed to help a family of 10 survive for at least six months.

The charity’s publicity officer, Huw Thomas, added: “This is another highly significant step forward in the ShelterBox story. Back in 2000, the charity was just an idea being developed in Tom Henderson’s garage.

“Now, in 2007, we’re responding at an ever-increasing level to emergencies around the world. So far this year, we’ve sent aid to help victims of disasters in Kenya, Bolivia, The Solomons, Pakistan, Swaziland and Nepal.”

During 2006-2007, RIBI clubs contributed 30% of ShelterBox’s funds, with 45% coming as direct public donations. ShelterBox also gets fundraising support from international affiliates set up by Rotary clubs in the USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Denmark and Norway. These affiliates now raise around 25% of the charity’s funds – although all aid operations take place via ShelterBox’s headquarters in Helston.

Mr Henderson said: “RIBI clubs played a crucial role in getting ShelterBox started and have always given us tremendous support. Worldwide, Rotary also plays a major part in both raising the funds to make our work possible and in providing logistical support on the ground in many countries.

“As a charity with a growing international reputation, we’re extremely proud of what has been achieved and the fact that The Duchess of Cornwall has now recognised the value of our work to the extent that she has agreed to become President of ShelterBox is a superb accolade.”

For more information about the charity’s work visit www.shelterbox.org or call 01326 569782.