Dallesport Area Volunteer Earns President’s Volunteer Service Award
Lora Helmer of Dallesport has received the Presidents’ Volunteer Service Award for her efforts in 2020 to provide emergency shelter and supplies to people in countries racked with natural disasters. It was her third consecutive year she received the award from the US Presidential Administration and ShelterBox USA.
From ShelterBox USA:
Dallesport area volunteer, Lora Helmer, has been recognized by the US Presidential Administration and humanitarian organization, ShelterBox USA, with the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her efforts in 2020 to provide emergency shelter and supplies to people who have lost their homes to natural disaster or fled because of civil conflict.
With help from Helmer’s efforts of raising awareness and funds for ShelterBox, the organization provided shelter and lifesaving supplies to more than 200,000 people in 13 countries, including 4 responses to the Philippines (Super Typhoon Goni, Typhoon Vonfong, Taal Volcano, and COVID-19) as well as our responses in Honduras (Hurricanes Eta and Iota), Somaliland (severe drought), Vanuatu (Cyclone Harold), India (Cyclone Amphan), Paraguay (COVID-19), Tanzania (flooding), Sudan (flooding), Burkina Faso (conflict), Syria (conflict), Nigeria (conflict), Cameroon (conflict), and Ethiopia (conflict).
“The lifesaving work of ShelterBox is only possible because of our inspiring volunteers like Lora Helmer, whose service in their communities is ensuring families made homeless by disaster and conflict situations have access to essential shelter and supplies,” said Kerri Murray, President of ShelterBox USA. “This distinction truly sets her apart as someone committed to serving others and making the world a better place. Never has this work been more important as we scaled up our efforts to both shelter families and to protect them from COVID-19.”
ShelterBox provides humanitarian aid in the form of family-sized tents and essential tools to start repairing and rebuilding homes. Additionally, the organization’s kits and boxes contain items that help transform shelter into a home, like cooking sets, solar lights, blankets, water filtration, and mosquito nets. More than shelter, these items enable families to recovery following a disaster, providing a way to keep communities and families together and allowing them the space to focus on the future.
The President’s Volunteer Service Award is a special recognition presented on behalf of President Joe Biden. The award is part of a national recognition program created in 2003 through the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation for individuals of all ages who contribute a significant amount of time to volunteer activities.
To volunteer, fundraise, or make a donation, visit www.shelterboxusa.org or call (805) 608-2400. Legacy giving and corporate giving options are available as well. ShelterBox USA is a 4-Star rated charity by Charity Navigator and has Platinum status from GuideStar.
About ShelterBox
Since 2000, ShelterBox has provided 2 million people with shelter, warmth, and dignity following more than 300 disasters in over 100 countries. ShelterBox responds urgently to earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, hurricanes, cyclones, tsunamis, or conflict by delivering boxes of essential shelter, aid, and other life-saving supplies. The organization was nominated in 2018 and 2019 for the Nobel Peace Prize in acknowledgment of its work in some of the world’s most extreme conflict zones. ShelterBox USA is based in Santa Barbara, California.
ShelterBox is an official Project Partner of Rotary International. Tax-deductible donations to the organization can be made at www.ShelterBoxUSA.org or by calling (805) 608-2400.
Relief in Malawi. Image courtesy of Shelter Box USA
