Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity, but here in Santa Barbara County, it’s a chance to make a personal, local difference. At Noozhawk, we believe in the power of community and the impact that even small acts of kindness can have when directed close to home.
Our Good for Santa Barbara County Nonprofit Section is designed to connect you with local organizations doing vital work. Whether it’s a donation, a few hours of your time, or simply helping spread the word, your contribution matters.
Explore our Giving Guide today and help brighten the season for those who need it most!
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Paul Vercammen, Communications Director at ShelterBox USA, to learn more about the nonprofit’s vision of providing shelter, essential items and technical assistance to help some of the world’s most vulnerable people recover and rebuild their homes after disaster.
ShelterBox USA
Question: What is the name of your nonprofit, and what is its mission?
Answer: ShelterBox USA provides shelter, essential items and technical assistance to help some of the world’s most vulnerable people recover and rebuild their homes after disaster. We listen and adapt our support to the needs of each community, working together with those affected by disaster, alongside our supporters and partners.
Q: How long has your organization been serving the community, and who founded it?
A: In 2000, ShelterBox started with the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall, England. The members wanted to do something for people left with nothing after disaster.
The initial goal was to help eight to 10 families a year, with each ShelterBox containing a family-sized tent, sleeping bags, water purifying tablets, a trenching tool and pots and pans. ShelterBox expanded around the world and eventually added a U.S. headquarters.
ShelterBox USA took off in 2015 when it hired former Direct Relief executive Kerri Murray as president. ShelterBox continues to be project partners with Rotary International. We’ve now helped three million people around the world.
Q: What motivated the creation of your nonprofit?
A: Our founders recognized our planet began suffering from a heartbreaking number of people who lost everything due to disasters such as earthquakes and floods, as well as conflicts.
Our mission and motivation only increased, as the climate crisis also left people without shelter.
As of November 2025, a record-shattering 123.5 million people are forcibly displaced, the most colossal humanitarian crisis of our times.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded, and what are its biggest needs right now?
A: ShelterBox USA is supported primarily by people like you, public donations. We are apolitical.
Q: What types of events or programs do you run to engage your community and raise funds?
A: ShelterBox USA puts on a variety of events to engage our community. Each March, we host an in-person Women’s Day event with dynamic speakers. Much of our work around the world focuses on women and children, bearing the brunt of forced displacement.
Trailblazing LA County Fire Captain Sheila Keliher, who presented a Grammy Award to Beyonce, delivered a particularly inspiring talk in 2025. We also put on both an in-person gala and virtual benefit.
Kevin Costner spoke and dedicated an original song for our virtual event in 2025. Other outreach includes dozens of speaking engagements and our tent set-up and booth at Santa Barbara Earth Day downtown.
Q: How can people get involved with your nonprofit or volunteer?
A: Every single dollar to ShelterBox makes a huge difference around the world. Consider that a mosquito net that can protect a family from malaria or dengue fever costs just eight dollars.
Aside from donations, we have a robust ambassador program where people raise awareness for ShelterBox, help with various tasks, fundraisers and even assist us with physical and clerical tasks.
Please contact our volunteer manager Libby Faus with any volunteer questions. LFaus@shelterboxusa.org
Q: Can you share a fun fact or little-known detail about your nonprofit that would surprise people?
A: We are the masters of reaching people in the most difficult to access places, such as Myanmar or Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. Morocco’s king initially declined direct aid from several countries, including the United States, following the 2023 earthquake.
But ShelterBox USA pressed on, leaning on Rotary partners and others to get into remote Atlas Mountain villages flattened by the quake. One recipient of aid up met our President Kerri Murray and said she could not believe someone came from California to help.
Enclosed is a photo of a widow, symbolically wearing all white as is the custom there, receiving a cooking set from Kerri.
Q: Could you share a story or two about individuals whose lives have been positively impacted by your organization?
A: When we responded in Altadena, ravaged by the Eaton Canyon fire, 68-year-old Bernice needed support. She had been breathing toxic air in the fire’s aftermath and was cold.
When Bernice received an air purifier and a blanket from ShelterBox staff members, she openly cried. Bernice got the relief she was seeking, from awful air and cold.
Esther fled from Boka Harum’s horrifying violence, the killing of her family members, and found safety in a ShelterBox tent in Cameroon.
Though abused, shaken and terrified, the comfort of the tent and other supplies helped Esther find some peace.
She eventually began to sew again, supporting herself and other refugees in her newfound safe haven.
Q: What makes your organization trustworthy for donors, and are there other ways people can support your cause beyond donations?
A: ShelterBox USA’s ability to maximize each donation without a lot of excessive spending has resulted in a perfect 100 percent rating on Charity Navigator. This rating comes after thorough vetting. The often extremely cynical Financial Times of London and other outlets have also recommended ShelterBox as a worthy destination for donors’ money.
ShelterBox USA can also be supported by in-kind donations, such as free shipping or donated aid items. Volunteers can offer their time to support us in a variety of ways, from public speaking to putting on fundraisers.
Our ambassadors have raised money for ShelterBox USA with trivia nights, long runs, drives down Route 66 in a 1953 truck, New Year’s Day plunges into icy waters and bicycle rides.
In a new development, we would welcome any donation of quality furniture and art to Consign for a Cause, run by a pillar of our community, Miss Daisy’s Auction House.
Consign for a Cause – Miss Daisy’s Consignment & Auction House
Q: Is there anything important or unique about your nonprofit that we haven’t covered yet?
A: ShelterBox USA is headquartered in Summerland on Ortega Hill, in what some residents may recall is the old Josten’s plant.
Our full-time staffers are your neighbors and friends, including graduates of Santa Barbara High School, San Marcos High, Bishop Garcia Diego High, Santa Clara High in Oxnard, Santa Ynez High, Santa Barbara City College, UC Santa Barbara and numerous other California schools.
This remarkable line-up of hometown do-gooders gives us a tremendous sense of pride and an ability to fully appreciate how the extended Santa Barbara community wants to help others in meaningful, compassionate, dignified ways.
Click here to support ShelterBox USA’s mission to provide shelter, essential items and technical assistance to help some of the world’s most vulnerable people recover and rebuild their homes after disaster.
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.
If you would like to include your nonprofit in our Good for Santa Barbara section and Giving Guide click HERE.