Soup and Ploughman’s Lunch Raises £1,574 for Survival Box Charity

The annual Soup and Ploughman’s Lunch took place on 2 February at the Alexandra Hotel and was a great success, raising £1,574 for the Survival Box charity. This total included the proceeds from a very successful raffle and exceeded by £74 the donation the Club made to the Big Give in anticipation before Christmas.

That earlier donation enabled Survival Box to participate in the Big Give campaign and invite members of the public to contribute matching donations.

The Alexandra Hotel generously donates the cost of the lunch each year, and the Club extends its most sincere thanks for their continued support.

The raffle table was expertly managed by M & M, helping contribute to the excellent total raised.

The Lyme Club has supported this charity for many years and, over time, our donations have reached around £20,000. One of the key reasons for this long-standing support, aside from the important humanitarian work the charity carries out, is that approximately 98% of all funds raised go directly towards providing Survival Boxes. This is possible because all labour involved in assembling the boxes is carried out by volunteers, with the main expense being premises rental.

Several Rotary Clubs in the District, including our own, regularly volunteer their time to help assemble the boxes, typically packing around 60 at a time.

The charity was originally founded by Rotarian Hugo Pike of the Rotary Club of Chelwood Bridge, who was awarded an OBE for his work. Today, Tony Quin continues to play a leading role as a Trustee and is ably supported by members of the Chelwood Bridge Club.

At the heart of each Survival Box is a simple hand-operated filter pump, made in Britain, which provides spotlessly clean drinking water from almost any available source. The pump can last up to five years and is capable of filtering around 200,000 litres of water for drinking and washing. Costing just under £40, it works using a fine micro-pore filter that blocks bacteria and viruses while allowing clean water to pass through. The filter simply needs to be flushed periodically to maintain its effectiveness.

To ensure rapid response in emergencies, the charity currently has 200 fully packed Survival Boxes stored in Honduras with the Honduras Red Cross and another 200 in Madagascar with Medair. Having supplies pre-positioned allows them to be delivered quickly wherever disaster strikes nearby.

The charity has also established excellent relationships with several airlines, which transport large consignments of boxes at little or no cost.

Each standard Survival Box is designed to support a family of five who may have lost their home and possessions following a natural or man-made disaster. All boxes are identical, which helps speed up customs inspection processes and ensures aid reaches those in need as quickly as possible.