Hope in a Box (Aired on April 16, 2023)

          

Radio Rotary is visited by El Dorado Hills, CA, Rotarian Bill Tobin, Rotary Relations Manager for ShelterBox USA, ShelterBox started with Rotarians from the Helston-Lizard club in the United Kingdom. In 2000, these Rotarians observed the many disasters reported in the news and developed the idea of providing a basic tool kit to help family’s recover. The idea, promoted by Rotarians around the world, grew into the nonprofit that is often the first to arrive at a natural disaster or war scene. Because it was recognized that shelter from the elements was a priority, tents were provided. Originally a large storage box, the weight was kept to 100 pounds so it could be carried by an individual, and was packed with tools, water purifiers, lighting, blankets, and other necessities. Recently solar power has become part of the toolkit. Tent (and supplies) in a box became ShelterBox. Today there are many specialized versions of the ShelterBox, adjusted to the needs of the specific disaster victims.

Learn More:
ShelterBox USA: https://www.shelterboxusa.org/
ShelterBox Disaster Relief https://shelterbox.org/
Yosemite Adventure Trek: https://www.shelterboxusa.org/adventurers-trek-yosemite/
El Dorado Hills Rotary: https://www.edhrotary.org/
Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard: https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=1608

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May 12, 2023 · Posted in Disaster Relief, International Programs  

Hudson Valley Helps Refugees (Aired on January 15, 2023)

          

Highland Rotarian BJ Mikkelsen returns to Radio Rotary to report on the progress of his efforts to help refugees from the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Mikkelsen was in Berlin on the day after the invasion, where he observed thousands of Ukrainian refugees crowding the main Berlin train station. He quickly raised money for food and other supplies, and in October traveled
with a truckload of relief to Lviv, Ukraine. Since then he has created the nonprofit corporation “Hudson Valley Helps Refugees,” which by the end of 2022 had collected and delivered some $40,000 in aid. The key elements in getting the aid to those in need are a Rotary Club in Warsaw, Poland; another Rotary in Helmstedt, Germany; and St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church in Berlin. One of the main projects needed for refugee help in Ukraine is an additional ambulance, and Hudson Valley Helps Refugees is working toward providing that, but there are also many other ways that the organization provides aid.

Learn More:
Hudson Valley Helps Refugees: http://www.hudsonvalleyhelpsrefugees.org/
Rotary Club Warszawa Fryderyk Chopin: http://rotaryfryderykchopin.org.pl/
Rotary Club of Helmstedt: https://helmstedt.rotary.de/
St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church: https://www.berlin.de/en/attractions-and-sights/3559961-3104052-st-nicholas-church.en.html
Highland (NY) Rotary Club: https://highlandrotaryclub.com/

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January 26, 2023 · Posted in Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Service, International Programs, Rotary Club Projects  

Rotarian Aids Ukrainian Refugees (Aired on April 3, 2022)

      

Red Hook Rotarian BJ Mikkelsen visits Radio Rotary to tell a fascinating tale of how he became involved with the Ukrainian refugee disaster. Mr. Mikkelsen had been invited to help a friend in Berlin, Germany, celebrate his birthday. When Mr. Mikkelsen arrived in Berlin, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a week old, and the plight of the Ukrainian refugees streaming west was already recognized as a major world disaster. Here in the U.S. and around the world, special arrangements were quickly being made to provide help, including a special Rotary International disaster fund. In Berlin, Mr. Mikkelsen, his friend, and his friend’s wife, a nurse, learned that the center of relief efforts was the principal Ukrainian church, one of the oldest churches in Berlin. The Mikkelsen group bought a large supply of groceries and another of medical materials which the church shipped by truck via back roads to Lviv in Ukraine. Listen to the program for much more of this interesting account of how the Ukrainians are being helped and also learn how Mr. Mikkelsen can help you donate to the Ukrainian cause.

Learn More:
St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church: https://www.berlin.de/en/attractions-and-sights/3559961-3104052-st-nicholas-church.en.html
Donate to Aid Ukraine through Rotary: https://www.rotary.org/en/rotary-foundation-creates-channel-direct-humanitarian-support-ukraine-region#:~:text=In%20response%20to%20the%20deepening,as%20the%20main%20avenue%20for
Highland Rotary Club: https://highlandrotaryclub.com/

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April 10, 2022 · Posted in Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Service  

Aquabox Filter Kits for Disaster Relief (Aired on March 27, 2022)

For an international program, the Radio Rotary hosts, Jonah Teibwasser and Kathy Kruger, interview Roger Cassidy and David Hood from the Wirkswirth Rotary in England along with Tim Lynch of the Red Hook (NY) Rotary concerning Aquabox, a source of water filters and other emergency supplies that was formed in 1992 by the Wirkswirth Rotary Club. Aquabox now operates as an
independent charity associated with Rotary International. The box of equipment for providing safe, clean water come in various configurations, from a one-family box of two filters and other disaster supplies to community filters than can produce 6 liters of potable water a minute. The current disaster in Ukraine has been receiving Aquabox filters delivered by the British Ukrainian Society.

Learn More:
Aquabox: https://www.aquabox.org/
Wirkswirth Rotary Club: https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=1334
Red Hook Rotary Club: https://www.redhookrotaryclub.org/
British Ukrainian Society: https://www.britishukrainiansociety.org/

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April 10, 2022 · Posted in Disaster Relief, Health, International Programs, Water Projects  

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