NHS ShelterBox Club Raises $4,000 in 2020

ShelterBox is an international disaster organization that provides displaced families with emergency shelter and other lifesaving aid items. Every minute, 25 people are forced from their homes due to natural disasters or conflict, and in total there are over 100 million people displaced. ShelterBox works to make sure these people have the proper materials they need to not only survive, but thrive. 

The NHS ShelterBox Club was started in the fall of the 2019-2020 school year by Co-presidents Alex Goodale and Grace Yonchak. The goal of the club is to raise money and awareness for the ShelterBox organization.

The ShelterBox club has achieved much success since 2020 began, and in total has raised $4,000. Each ShelterBox, which consists of a weather-resistant tent, blankets, cooking set, water filter, etc, costs $1,000, and each tent can house up to 10 people. This means that the NHS ShelterBox club has provided a temporary shelter for 40 people!

The first of the club’s successes came in April during a 24-hour giving challenge in which all donations would be matched. In just 24 hours, the club was able to raise over $1,000 (which turns into $2,000 when matched) thanks to family, friends, and other good samaritans. 

Over the summer, ShelterBox hosted it’s annual “Stock The Box” campaign, where people try to raise as much money as possible. In order to do this, the NHS ShelterBox club had a brilliant idea to host “backyard scavenger hunts” for kids. Club members would go to people’s houses and create a scavenger hunt with 10-20 clues leading to a bag prizes. All in all, this raised $1,700!

On December 2nd, Hearth located in Needham will be holding a fundraising night for ShelterBox where 10% of the profits will be donated to ShelterBox. Be sure to head to Hearth then:)

The NHS ShelterBox club will continue its vital work through various other fundraisers, so be on the lookout for these! If you are interested in joining the NHS ShelterBox club, please contact Alex Goodale (arg221@students.needham.k12.ma.us) or Grace Yonchak (gcy221@students.needham.k12.ma.us).