Right now, over 100 million people worldwide have been forced from their homes by disasters, conflict and climate change – and that number is growing every day.

Shelter Box is an international disaster relief charity giving emergency shelters and aid essentials such as shelter repair kits, water filters and solar lights to help people build, repair or return home following a disaster.

Shelter Box partners with Rotary International in efforts to support communities in desperate need of shelter whenever required.

The East Jefferson Rotary Club in Chimacum sponsors an Interact Club at Chimacum High School. An Interact Club is for young people who want to develop leadership skills and make a difference in their community and the world. The Chimacum High Interact Club is focused on raising funds supporting Shelter Box.

Last Saturday, April 12, the Interact Club held a fundraising car wash in the parking lot of Olympic Equipment Rental, (OER), in Port Hadlock. Mark Walters, owner of OER, only asked that the club wash his truck in exchange for using the parking lot. It was a pretty good deal since the club may have used several times the value of the car wash in the amount of water used, all in the pursuit of a cleaner Jefferson County! I joined other Rotarians Sheriff Andy Pernsteiner, Mitch Brennan, Diane Johnson, Nelson Atkin and a few others assisting members of the Interact Club in the car cleaning efforts. Actually, I only provided a few supplies and some moral support. Mitch claimed the car washing skills of the members of the Interact Club only improved as the day wore on.

The club members working included John Nucia, Calliope Mosher, Angeliese Pratt, Olivia Lawson and Nico Robbins. BJ and I arrived at 1 p.m. with our cars needing attention. Larry Baldwin had his beautiful red Dodge Ram pickup being washed before we arrived. He mentioned being in the Rakers car club with three other cars, one of which is an old Corvette. He told us he is selling the Corvette because it is so hard to get in and out of it. This is a condition I can understand.

Larry Scott brought his very large white, (maybe?), Dodge truck to get 10 years of dirt washed off. Larry has been involved for many years in the development of the hiking trails around Port Ludlow. He and his volunteer cohorts have provided us with over 30 miles of trails in and around the town. In fact, I speculate that most of the dirt moved in that effort ended up residing on his truck. He suggested the kids just “knock the dirt off.” I supplied some Simple Green to clean the wheels, resulting in a brightness on them not seen since it was new. The “Interactors” appreciated his generous donation supporting the Shelter Box project.

When finished, the Interact Club had raised over $500 toward the $1,000 needed for the purchase of another Shelter Box to provide support to those people suffering in a disaster. At the same time, they enjoyed the snacks, pizza and water fights involved in the day. I enjoyed getting our cars washed, particularly BJ’s. For some reason, her car seems to attract splashes of mud that rarely wash off in the rain. Thanks to Mark Walters for providing the space to wash cars and to the many gallons of water he may have unknowingly provided. Thanks to the folks who brought their cars and trucks to get washed and support the Interact Club at Chimacum High School.

Love a curmudgeon and have a great week!