Communications Pro Blog

As I was standing at the ‘Hearts for Haiti’ fundraiser at Scoogi’s Classic Italian Restaurant in Flourtown this past week, with a glass of wine in one hand and a plate of Haitian-themed food in the other, I couldn’t help but think how the population near the site of the earthquake would not be eating these kinds of foods anytime soon. There were steaming chafing trays of grilled shrimp on skewers, red beans and rice, a seasoned chick pea side dish, fajitas, and several other creative concoctions that Scoogi’s Chef and Owner Rob Rosato and his staff took the extra time to prepare.
Groups of Rotarians from the Conshohocken-Plymouth-Whitemarsh Rotary, the primary sponsor, came in to eat and catch up with up with fellow Rotarians. They were soon joined by Springfield Rotarians and members of the community. The atmosphere was somewhat celebratory on the eve of the fourth major snowstorm to hit this area this winter. My mood was a bit somber. I stood off to the side and reflected, tasting the food and watching a slide show about the ShelterBox program. I thought about how a Haitian would have been happy with some warm red beans and rice. I learned that a ShelterBox is a plastic box that contains a 10-person tent, thermal blankets, insulated ground sheets, multi-fuel stove, cooking utensils, tools, water purification equipment, waterproof ponchos, mosquito nets, and a children’s activity pack.
Eventually I sat down at a table with Flourtown resident and Long & Foster realtor Linda Geisler. Geisler explained that she had listened to a National Public Radio piece about the ShelterBox program recently, and the next day she saw a photo and caption in the local paper about the Rotary event and it’s goal of raising enough money for at least one ShelterBox. The kits run about $1000. The Rotarians raised just over $1200, with the help of donated food and space from Rosato.
“The timing was perfect. I had heard the NPR piece and then read the information in the paper and thought I’d check it out,” said Geisler, who lives on nearby Valley Green Road.
During our conversation, ShelterBox volunteer Bill Decker came around wearing his ShelterBox shirt and handing brochures. As we were chatting, I realized I knew Decker through his role as a Partner of The Hub, a company that has meeting spaces for rent in Center City and at the Cira Center by 30th Street Station. I commended him for coming out from behind the desk and volunteering for such a worthy cause. He has been doing so, he shared, for the past three years. According to the ShelterBox brochure, ‘on any given day, more than 12,000,000 (million) people worldwide lack adequate shelter.’ So this cause did not start and will not end with the people of Haiti. Now there are the victims of the more recent earthquake in Chile in need of shelter.
I then took a photo of Decker, Rosato, and C-P-W Rotary President Stephen G. Schoener, who also had is also another ‘can do’ kind of guy. It turns out that Schoener, who by day is a Finance and Insurance Executive by day with Zurich, based in Berwyn, doesn’t even live in Conshohocken, Plymouth or Whitemarsh. He had lived in the community at one time, but he and his wife moved to West Chester more than a year ago. That’s nearly an hour away.
“I had made the commitment to head the group this year and I felt I needed to stand by that decision,” said Schoener.
I then went to visit with Mary Shaub, a C-W-P Rotarian who lives in Lafayette Hill who got me involved in doing some publicity for the fundraiser. She thanked me for my efforts and pitched me on buying $10 worth of raffle tickets for a basket of cheer. I quickly handed over a $20, thinking again how Haitians would be lucky to be drinking fresh water in parts of Haiti this evening.
As I left Scoogi’s I thought about how difficult it would have been to create the fabulous foods Rosato and his staff cooked with the items from a ShelterBox. The people in Haiti would have been grateful, I suspect, for just the red beans and rice. My heart goes out to the victims of Haiti and the good folks locally who helped send one more ShelterBox to the earthquake-ravaged country. You can still make a donation by going to www.ShelterBox.org.

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