Framlingham/Wickham Market: Shoppers support stricken families in Rotary’s Shelter Box appeal

Shoppers at east Suffolk supermarkets have been thanked for their generosity after donating enough money to help two disaster-stricken families in their time of need.

Framlingham Rotary Club’s recent collections at local Co-operative stores raised nearly £900 over consecutive weekends – just short of the total needed to provide two Shelter Boxes.

Fund-raising committee chairman Vernon Readhead said the Shelter Boxes were a “fantastic” resource to help crisis-hit families get back on their feet and has thanked everyone who donated in Framlingham and Wickham Market.

“We were so amazed with what we had collected, the response was very generous and it’s a very worthwhile cause because you know every penny goes where it’s supposed to,” he said.

Mr Readhead has also thanked the Co-operative for allowing the Rotarians to collect at the two stores on short notice.

Rotary’s Shelter Box appeal provides a stockpile of emergency survival kits for distribution in the event of a disaster anywhere in the world.

Items including a 10-man tent, cooking equipment, tools and water purification systems are packaged in a green plastic box designed to sustain a large family for up to six months.

“It’s there to get their life back to some sort of normality,” Mr Readhead said.

Framlingham Rotary Club is hoping to recruit new members to help it with its ongoing charitable work. Interested recruits are invited to search for “Framlingham Rotary Club” on the internet to get in touch.