Elmhurst Rotarian meets king of Sweden
ShelterBox Response Team member Mark Dyer of Elmhurst received a royal treat while attending the 2011 World Scout Jamboree this month in Sweden.
His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, king of Sweden, met with Dyer at the ShelterBox exhibit and expressed his support for the outstanding work of the disaster relief charity that counts Rotary International among its chief supporters.
“The king had heard of ShelterBox’s work and made a point of visiting our display and adventure course,” said Dyer, who also serves as the ShelterBox Scout coordinator. “He asked lots of questions and commented several times on the high quality of our equipment, especially the ShelterBox tent. The king was delighted to hear about the launch of ShelterBox Sweden as an official ShelterBox affiliate and asked us to keep him informed about the work we do throughout the world.”
The ShelterBox team then presented His Majesty with a special ShelterBox Scout neckerchief.
About 40,000 Scouts from 120 countries attended the jamboree. Scouts were encouraged to learn about ShelterBox’s mission to provide shelter, warmth and dignity to disaster survivors and how they can make positive contributions to the global community.
“ShelterBox USA forged a strong relationship with the Boy Scouts of America in 2010 and is working to build similar partnerships with other scouting organizations in the U.S. — and will continue to work with Scouting in countries around the globe,” Dyer said. “Our goal is to have hundreds of thousands of Scouts in troops, packs, dens and patrols supporting our worldwide disaster relief efforts.”
Scouts have helped ShelterBox Response Team members distribute ShelterBoxes with specially designed tents and life-support equipment and assisted in the setup of camps in their local communities.
“There is a wonderful synergy between ShelterBox and Scouting,” Dyer said. “Scouts rely on the special skills they have learned, including leadership, emergency preparedness, camping, safety and communications as well as citizenship in the community, nation and world. Both of our organizations want to create a better world.”
Dyer’s next major event is Oct. 14-16 at a Boy Scout Camporall at the Sandwich Fairgrounds in Sandwich, Ill. He is recruiting members of his Elmhurst Rotary Club and other Rotarians to spend a day supervising activities for more than 6,000 campers from the Three Fires Council. The Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts will learn more about Rotary, Scouting and how ShelterBox responds to earthquakes, floods and other disasters.
For information about ShelterBox and Scouting or to volunteer for the Camporall, email Markdyer1@comcast.net or call (630)-531-4599.