Helping Hand

As Emily Sperling walks through the halls of her office, brightly colored images from picture frames on the walls catch her eye.

Some show pop-up tents planted on barren soil where buildings once stood.

Some depict bright green containers being delivered into the hands of people by boat, plane or donkey.

The last one she points to shows a child smiling after receiving much-needed care.

“This one's my favorite,” says Sperling, the new president of ShelterBox USA.

The organization, locally in Lakewood Ranch, is an affiliate of United Kingdom-based ShelterBox, an internal disaster relief organization that provides shelter and equipment to natural disaster survivors. Although the U.S.-based chapter is largely responsible for fundraising and raising awareness, it also assists with sending response teams and ShelterBoxes to natural disasters all over the world.

“We exist to provide temporary shelter and other equipment to help them in the days, weeks and months following (a disaster) to help them put their lives back together,” Sperling says.

Perfect fit

Sperling joined ShelterBox USA in April 2010 as director of operations and has served as interim executive director since February. The announcement of her official promotion came in the wake of the tsunami in Japan last month, as Sperling and other ShelterBox team members worked to provide aid to affected families there.

Sperling's introduction to the work of ShelterBox came through a business associate, ShelterBox's former Executive Director Veronica Miller, who invited Sperling to attend a meeting and hear the organization's founder Tom Henderson speak.

“I heard firsthand from the founder (what this organization was about),” Sperling says. “I knew immediately I would have some involvement with ShelterBox. I assumed it would be as a volunteer.”

But in April 2010, a position as ShelterBox USA's director of operations opened and the job proved to be the perfect fit for Sperling's skill set. Although she was happily employed as the community relations director for the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County, she couldn't resist joining ShelterBox's mission when the organization approached her.

“You can't turn away from this,” she says, looking toward the photos on the wall.

Whatever means

When disaster strikes, ShelterBox immediately prepares to send boxes from stock placed around the world or from the organization's headquarters. Trained Response Team members — of which there are only 36 in the United States and 150 in the world — respond to the disaster and quickly begin developing a plan for getting supplies to the affected areas, Sperling says. Once a strategy is developed, team members begin working to get boxes, which contain tents, pots and pans and other life-saving supplies, to natural disaster victims on behalf of donors.

ShelterBox delivers the aid by “whatever means necessary,” whether boat, or airplane, or wheelbarrow, Sperling says.

And although getting supplies on the ground and in the hands of victims is the organization's mission fulfilled, equally important to ShelterBox's efforts are the organization's 280 volunteers, who speak to other groups throughout the country, raising awareness and funds for ShelterBox to be able to fulfill its vision for bringing shelter, warmth and dignity to victims, Sperling says.

“We really couldn't do it without them,” she says.

Sperling says over the next year, she will focus on building corporate and foundation partnerships, as well as fundraising and increasing the number of volunteers who can speak on behalf of the organization.

“You know natural disasters are going to occur,” Sperling says of why ShelterBox's mission is different. “We want to be prepared to handle it.”

For more information on ShelterBox, visit www.shelterboxusa.org.

-Pam Eubanks