SLV^GLD
17th March 2011, 10:48 AM
I mentioned my involvement in an organization known as ShelterBox (http://www.shelterbox.org/) in another thread.
There seemed to be a good deal of interest in this organization so this thread is here to give you guys a little insight on how and why I got involved and what you can do to become involved.
I first heard about ShelterBox about 3 months ago when a friend of mine returned from a visit to Costa Rica. While there he had met some members of the ShelterBox Response Team (SRT). They had described their function in the organization and it had inspired him to look into it when he returned. The SRT is the first responder that is sent with the actual ShelterBoxes to deliver aid at the actual disaster sites. These people represent an almost elite force of highly trained and skilled individuals who function well under pressure and with minimal support. My friend, knowing my predilection for survival type of stuff informed me about it and I was immediately interested. My initial and continued interest was in becoming a SRT.
Becoming a SRT member is a much longer journey than it apparently once was. The interest in this field is more intense than any interest in operating anywhere else in the organization. As such, interested parties are required to first participate in some separate function within the organization and basically pass a series of milestones and tests as provided by the ShelterBox Academy (http://www.shelterboxacademy.org/). Currently my friend is working to raise awareness and donation funding by operating as a Speaker. He's really good at that type of thing and has many contacts already established within our local communities. I got started simply by playing his assistant. I would help find leads and contacts and also be onsite for speaking events where I basically just set up and took down the tents, chairs and paperwork that each speaking event entailed. I was also available to answer questions but that amounted to basically reading from a canned response sheet and forwarding any questions beyond that up the chain. While I certainly recognize the crucial role fund-raising plays in the organization that line of work does not play towards my real strengths.
Being as my interests were specifically towards more hands-on involvement and also to at least attempt to make SRT I began working within the academy. My first assignment was to train a local Boy Scouts troop on proper safety during rigging for load lifting which I was previously certified in through my extensive safety training in the construction industry. ShelterBox seems to have a close affiliation with BSA and if I am not mistaken has taken a position in their merit path.
My latest project involved going to the closest international airport to perform quality control checks on previously packed ShelterBoxes and to interface with the airport personnel in facilitating the proper loading and delivery of those ShelterBoxes.
The ShelterBox organization is extremely adept at identifying and utilizing your preexisting strengths and analyzing your capabilities that might extend elsewhere within the organization. Being as I had already worked with several of the key persons at this airport within my employment during the construction of a FedEx hub and that much of my construction experience is in developing, coordinating and overseeing the implementation of quality control plans they were able to immediately recognize me as a good fit for this position.
I am enrolled to travel to a not-so-distant city to actually pack ShelterBoxes for the Japanese Tsunami/Nuclear relief efforts this weekend although they have yet to confirm that I will be needed for this event.
All of this work contributes to my potential eligibility to one day train as a SRT member at the Academy across the pond. Anyone who has preexisting first response skills or something akin to search and rescue skills would immediately be considered for actual SRT training. While I may never even be considered for SRT training or fail miserably if I do get the opportunity I have already realized a great deal of personal and spiritual benefit not only through my contributions but also through my exposure and interaction with this organization that operates directly in line with what I perceive to be the ongoing work of my personal higher power.
If any of the above sounds of interest to you I encourage you to contact (http://www.shelterboxusa.org/contact.php) ShelterBox with those interests. There is a function for every type of person; they even have a panel of people who do nothing more than assess incoming new folks for the best fit within the organization. All of my contact with directorial staff has been via email and FedEx packages of materials. My main contact is Alan Monroe who can be reached at alan at shelterboxusa dot oh argh gee.
There seemed to be a good deal of interest in this organization so this thread is here to give you guys a little insight on how and why I got involved and what you can do to become involved.
I first heard about ShelterBox about 3 months ago when a friend of mine returned from a visit to Costa Rica. While there he had met some members of the ShelterBox Response Team (SRT). They had described their function in the organization and it had inspired him to look into it when he returned. The SRT is the first responder that is sent with the actual ShelterBoxes to deliver aid at the actual disaster sites. These people represent an almost elite force of highly trained and skilled individuals who function well under pressure and with minimal support. My friend, knowing my predilection for survival type of stuff informed me about it and I was immediately interested. My initial and continued interest was in becoming a SRT.
Becoming a SRT member is a much longer journey than it apparently once was. The interest in this field is more intense than any interest in operating anywhere else in the organization. As such, interested parties are required to first participate in some separate function within the organization and basically pass a series of milestones and tests as provided by the ShelterBox Academy (http://www.shelterboxacademy.org/). Currently my friend is working to raise awareness and donation funding by operating as a Speaker. He's really good at that type of thing and has many contacts already established within our local communities. I got started simply by playing his assistant. I would help find leads and contacts and also be onsite for speaking events where I basically just set up and took down the tents, chairs and paperwork that each speaking event entailed. I was also available to answer questions but that amounted to basically reading from a canned response sheet and forwarding any questions beyond that up the chain. While I certainly recognize the crucial role fund-raising plays in the organization that line of work does not play towards my real strengths.
Being as my interests were specifically towards more hands-on involvement and also to at least attempt to make SRT I began working within the academy. My first assignment was to train a local Boy Scouts troop on proper safety during rigging for load lifting which I was previously certified in through my extensive safety training in the construction industry. ShelterBox seems to have a close affiliation with BSA and if I am not mistaken has taken a position in their merit path.
My latest project involved going to the closest international airport to perform quality control checks on previously packed ShelterBoxes and to interface with the airport personnel in facilitating the proper loading and delivery of those ShelterBoxes.
The ShelterBox organization is extremely adept at identifying and utilizing your preexisting strengths and analyzing your capabilities that might extend elsewhere within the organization. Being as I had already worked with several of the key persons at this airport within my employment during the construction of a FedEx hub and that much of my construction experience is in developing, coordinating and overseeing the implementation of quality control plans they were able to immediately recognize me as a good fit for this position.
I am enrolled to travel to a not-so-distant city to actually pack ShelterBoxes for the Japanese Tsunami/Nuclear relief efforts this weekend although they have yet to confirm that I will be needed for this event.
All of this work contributes to my potential eligibility to one day train as a SRT member at the Academy across the pond. Anyone who has preexisting first response skills or something akin to search and rescue skills would immediately be considered for actual SRT training. While I may never even be considered for SRT training or fail miserably if I do get the opportunity I have already realized a great deal of personal and spiritual benefit not only through my contributions but also through my exposure and interaction with this organization that operates directly in line with what I perceive to be the ongoing work of my personal higher power.
If any of the above sounds of interest to you I encourage you to contact (http://www.shelterboxusa.org/contact.php) ShelterBox with those interests. There is a function for every type of person; they even have a panel of people who do nothing more than assess incoming new folks for the best fit within the organization. All of my contact with directorial staff has been via email and FedEx packages of materials. My main contact is Alan Monroe who can be reached at alan at shelterboxusa dot oh argh gee.