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SPECIAL INVITATION
Rotary eClub One, D5450, Colorado USA from its 2008/2009 President, Angus M Robinson

The Club’s Annual Dinner and a Celebration of ShelterBox

2009 RI Convention, Birmingham, UK

Edgbaston Golf Club

7.00 for 7.30 pm, Monday, 22ND June 2009

The Function:

With some 46 members located in 11 countries, and serving over 7,000 Rotarians every month with ‘online make ups’, Rotary eClub One is one of the most successful pilot ‘new model’ Rotary Clubs in the world. Every year, the Club holds its annual dinner at the RI Convention; this year the RI Convention is holding its 100^th annual event in Birmingham, UK.

The feature of the evening will be a keynote address from Tom Henderson, the Founder of ShelterBox. As a major financial supporter, Rotary eClub One is proud to celebrate ShelterBox’s achievements – for example, Rotary eClub One was the first club to sponsor ShelterBox units in the field at Whittlesea in support of the Victorian bushfires. Rotary eClub One has also supported ShelterBox in other arenas of the world where natural disasters have occurred.

Rotary eClub One would like to extend a special invitation to those Rotarians visiting the Club’s web site to obtain a ‘make up’, and who also intend traveling to the 2009 RI Convention, to join with Club members at this special celebration of ShelterBox at the Club’s Annual Dinner on the evening of Monday 22^nd June.

ShelterBox – A Unique Idea!

The ShelterBox concept was thought up and developed by Rotarian and ex-Royal Navy search-and-rescue diver Tom Henderson – the charity’s founder and Chief Executive Officer. http://www.shelterbox.org

Disasters – whatever the cause – often result in huge numbers of people left homeless. The initial challenge is often medical aid and making sure everyone has access to water and food. However, another essential is shelter. That’s because without protection from the elements survival can be a real battle – particularly for the young, old and infirm.

In late 1999, Tom realised no one was really dealing with this specific challenge and came up with the idea of the ShelterBox. He spent the next few months researching the idea, sourcing equipment and getting others to back the project. The final product comprises a readily transportable box which contains a dry weatherproof tent suitable for 10 people, thermal blankets and ground sheets, water purification equipment, cooking aids and utensils, a practical tool kit and a children’s pack.

ShelterBox was launched in April 2000 and the first boxes sent to India in January 2001. Now, ShelterBox has become one of the most effective aid agencies in the world.

ShelterBox - The Rotary link

The ShelterBox idea was adopted by Tom's Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard as its millennium project and registered as a UK charity. The directors of The ShelterBox Trust are members of the Helston-Lizard club. Many Rotary clubs in the UK and Ireland now enthusiastically support ShelterBox – and raise a significant proportion of the charity’s income.

Rotary clubs in the United States, Australia, Canada have also set up ShelterBox affiliates to fundraise on our behalf. Similar support groups are being set up in a number of other countries, including Germany, Norway and New Zealand.

Rotary also often plays a key role in helping ShelterBox get aid to disaster victims in the field. For example, in support of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, more than 13,000 boxes were sent to the areas hit by the tsunami – providing aid for approaching an estimated 230,000 people. During 2005, ShelterBox also helped 13,000 victims of Hurricane Katrina and provided aid for approaching 140,000 people after a huge earthquake in Pakistan.

In summary ShelterBox is the largest Rotary Club project in the world having so far assisted some 800,000 people in 58 countries.

ShelterBox and the Rotary eClub One Annual Dinner:

The Annual Dinner of Rotary eClub One is a great opportunity to meet with the members of the UK-based ShelterBox team. The keynote address to be delivered by ShelterBox Founder Tom Henderson will be a special highlight of this occasion.

The dinner will also be attended by District 5450 Governor Steve Cantrell and his wife Mary, other Rotary leaders, and by Rotarians from Rotary eClub One and other eclubs from around the world.

A fabulous three course meal including wine at a truly unique and famous venue is being offered!

The Venue: Edgbaston Golf Club:

The Edgbaston Golf Club is only a short distance from the City of Birmingham.

Edgbaston Golf Club can trace its history back more than 100 years. The club is now at its third home having started life on a 9 hole course at Lightwoods Park in Warley in 1896. The club moved to its current location at Edgbaston in 1936.

Edgbaston Hall is a classic Georgian mansion that was rebuilt by Sir Richard Gough who married into the Calthorpe family after the Civil War - the manor of Edbaldestone being mentioned in the Doomsday Book. After the Calthorpe family moved south, the Hall was occupied by a succession of well-to-do Birmingham citizens including Dr. William Withering, who discovered digitalis from foxgloves, and Sir James Smith, the first Lord Mayor of Birmingham, the city which is now hosting the 100^th Rotary International Convention!

Easy Registration for the Club’s Annual Dinner:

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