A virtual benefit hosted by ShelterBox USA president Kerri Murray prompted donors online to contribute more than $650,000 in support of the nonprofit’s humanitarian mission.

The record number of donations for the Nov. 16 virtual show-and-tell will allow ShelterBox to restock its supplies of tents, repair kits, and solar lights after almost 11 months of non-stop deployments.

In 2023 ShelterBox delivered emergency shelter and supplies after the devastating Turkey-Syria earthquake; in Ukraine as the war raged; and most recently in Morocco and Libya.

ShelterBox responses to large-scale disaster and conflict situations this year drew down inventories requiring a vital resupply with new funding.

“The generosity of our donors during this on-line benefit is a game changer for displaced people around the world,” said Murray, who recently returned from a deployment in the high Atlas Mountains in Morocco. “Many displaced people who desperately need a tent or cookware or a home repair kit will now be able to receive life-saving supplies.”

In her trip to Morocco, Murray saw displaced families living in traditional villages in the Atlas Mountains facing horrifying challenges as cold weather set in.

“Some of these villages were 95% destroyed, and people need essential shelter and the basics to survive the cold winter months,” she said. “In Morocco, ShelterBox will provide shelter and vital supplies to more than 6,000 people who lost everything.

“The aid items are a lifesaver to these families.”

ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and household supplies to individuals around the world who have been forced from their homes by disaster or armed conflicts. The United Nations reports more than 110 million people are now forcibly displaced across the globe, the most in history.

ShelterBox has helped 2.5 million displaced people since its founding in 2000 and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and 2019. So far in 2023, the global charity has provided supplies to hundreds of people in 12 countries, including people displaced by the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey, flooding in Libya, and the earthquake in Morocco.

ShelterBox is an official Project Partner of Rotary International in emergencies.