STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N
SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903
75cI
VOLUME 117
Issue 37
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2021
Brighton volunteers win awards from the President Kathleen Pierz helped many displaced families with shelter BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Brighton volunteer Kathleen Pierz, Brighton Rotary Club president, received a couple of U.S. Presidential Administration and Humanitarian Organization ShelterBox USA Service Awards for providing emergency shelter and supplies to people that lost their homes in a natural disaster or fled civil conflict, according to a press release by ShelterBox. She did the work in 2019. “It’s for working a certain number of volunteer hours in any given year. The award was started by President George W. Bush. It was the ‘Points of Light’ program. It’s been continued by every president since then. So last year, I got one signed by President Trump and this year, one signed by President Biden,” said Pierz. “I have a big passion for doing work with ShelterBox and doing work for the Rotary.” David Addor also received a bronze medal for his contribution of hundreds of hours raising money. He has been volunteering since 2007 and first learned about ShelterBox when an ambassador came out and talked to the Rotary Club. “It’s such an impactful organization. Our mission is to help people stay in their community, if we can help people rebuild where they live, they can stay there. Everything is there, their job, their families, and churches,” said Addor. “The idea is
ShelterBox Ambassadors Kathleen Pierz, Rotary president, and David Addor, Rotary member, both received awards for their work PHOTO BY BELEN WARD with ShelterBox USA.
to keep those communities together and hopefully within three to six months, life is back to normal.” The Rotarians started ShelterBox in Cornwall, England, as a millennial project. The groiup sent 10 boxes to a disaster area. “They all realize that the gap in providing aid when there’s a disaster was shelter. So they came up with an idea and worked with an English tent manufacturer,” said Pierz The Rotary Club came up with a basic kit for essentials for people to survive a natural disaster, manmade
or natural. Over the years, ShelterBox added more contents, such as kitchen sets, lights, mosquito nets, water purifications, blankets and tools. As of this year, they added a washtub and soap. “In March, ShelterBox hit a milestone, having helped 2 million people in a disaster. After we deploy in a situation, we go back and talked to the families who got aid from us, and we ask, ‘What worked for you and what didn’t work for you? Or, what do you wish we give you instead so that we can continue to improve and do what we do better?’”
said Pierz. “Eight-five percent of the funding goes directly to ShelterBox.” Pierz said the Rotary Club is an important partner because local Rotarians know how to get things through customs and courts. “Rotarians often own a business, have trucks to lend us and those trucks get the aid delivered. So, it’s a wonderful partnership with Rotary and a wonderful organization in terms of the number of people they help,” said Pierz. SEE VOLUNTEER, P5
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