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Chestnut Hill Rotary received the 2025-26 Platinum Hero Award from ShelterBox, the international disaster relief organization. The Platinum Hero Award, their highest level, is given to Rotary Clubs and Districts that contribute $10,000 or more in one year.
ShelterBox recently provided relief for: five hurricanes in Jamaica; working with non-UN agencies trying to get aid into Gaza; working with local Rotary clubs in the Philippines to provide aid to over 10,000 people affected by earthquakes and typhoons; and in the US providing relieve from hurricanes Helene, Milton, and the wildfires in Los Angeles.
In 2000, the idea for ShelterBox came from the Rotary Club of Helson-Lizard in Cornwall, England, when watching the news and wanting to do more after seeing that people were left with nothing after a disaster.
In addition to providing some temporary structure, ShelterBox provides basic necessities such as bedding, clothing, stoves, cooking supplies, hygiene kits, water filters, solar lights, and mosquito nets.
According to ShelterBox, the needs are increasing while humanitarian aid is shrinking. There are 123 million people around the world have lost their homes to disaster and conflict. Some 7.85 million people are newly displaced in 2025 —driven by aid cuts and conflict in Afghanistan, DRC, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Yemen. And climate-related disasters continue to rise. Saxton pointed out that ShelterBox does not receive government funding for its operations.
Donate, or learn more about how you can help by visiting ShelterBoxUSA.
