ShelterBox Launches Adventurers Program

Media Contact: Jeremy Jacobs [email protected] (858) 531-3362  

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — ShelterBox USA, a global disaster relief organization, launched a campaign to support adventure seekers taking on life-changing challenges to help the world’s most vulnerable who have been forced from their homes.  

ShelterBox “Adventurers” are ordinary people taking on extraordinary challenges. They raise awareness and funding for ShelterBox’s mission to provide shelter and living essentials to families around the world displaced by disaster or conflict. 

“At ShelterBox, we have been overwhelmed by the extraordinary acts of giving by ordinary people, volunteers around the world who are making a profound difference in — and in some cases saving — other people’s lives. ShelterBox Adventurers are people who make charitable giving part of their daily routine, combining their personal passions with their desire to make an impact,” said Kerri Murray, President of ShelterBox USA. “Even during this global pandemic, people are doing awe-inspiring activities that are transforming lives for the most vulnerable people in our world. It is truly inspiring.” 

Since its founding in 2000, the U.K.-based ShelterBox has provided shelter and other living essentials to more than 2 million people around the world in disaster areas and conflict zones. It has responded to more than 300 disasters and deployed to 100 countries. 

The “Adventurers” program began and grew organically, fueled by ShelterBox’s tenacious volunteers who, like ShelterBox, go the extra mile for those in need. This year, ShelterBox has developed a program to support their efforts, including with ShelterBox gear, media outreach and training, as well as support for their fundraising goals.  

Brittney Woodrum of Leadville, Colo., conceived her project during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“I felt this helplessness when I saw this growing need around the world that no one was really talking about,” she said. “Individuals that were displaced were much more vulnerable to COVID-19. I thought there must be something I could do to raise awareness and make a global impact.” 

Woodrum would go on to summit all 58 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks with a ShelterBox strapped to her back.  

“I wanted to be out there supporting a cause,” Woodrum said. “Having that extra reason to be out there – that greater cause behind me – is what kept me out there every day.”  

All types of adventurers are welcome and encouraged to sign up – from runners, to cyclists, to rowers, mountaineers and climbers. Unlike other nonprofit fundraisers, ShelterBox adventurers set their own objectives; ShelterBox stands ready to help. 

Previous ShelterBox Adventurers have included:  

• Jesse Pine of Denver, Colo., who cycled more than 3,700 miles from California to Alaska.  
• Erik Elsea of Cape Coral, Fla., who paddled the entire Mississippi River with a ShelterBox in his canoe. 
• Jasmine Harrison, of North Yorkshire, UK, who, at 21 years old, became the youngest woman to row solo the Atlantic Ocean. 

Think you have what it takes? For more information and to register, please visit: www.shelterboxusa.org/adventurers