Charity seeks donations for homeless shelters
ZELIENOPLE — Drivers motoring past the gas station on Route 19 by Little Creek Road may have noticed a tent set up on the station grounds.
It's not for camping. The tent advertises for ShelterBox, an international organization working to provide shelter for those displaced by disasters, inviting motorists and station patrons to donate what they can to the cause inside the gas station.
Tom and Marie Grant of Zelienople have spent years working as ambassadors with ShelterBox, raising funds and awareness for the cause.
“The idea is to help people who have no shelter after a disaster,” Tom Grant said. “It can be a natural disaster; it can be a conflict.”
Last year the couple was inducted into the Shelter Box Hall of Fame for their longtime service to the organization. This year they were named Shelter Box ambassadors of the month in June.
“It's just a wonderful program,” Tom Grant said. “We're deployed right now in 11 different countries.”
The tent on Route 19 shows one of the kinds of structures ShelterBox provides to those in need. The company provides tents of all shapes and sizes as well as structure frames to be used depending on the situation.
“That's our standard tent,” Tom Grant said. “Sometimes we don't use a tent, we have a kit.”
Some are used as housing, while others may be used to give those in need some privacy, he said.
In the station, employees Josh Reed and Tiffany Smith collect donations in a jar on the counter. While some people put supplies such as sleeping bags in the tent, Tom Grant said they're really looking for financial donations in the station.
“It's a good program,” Reed said. “In four years I don't think I've seen the tent move. Once they set it up, it doesn't go anywhere . ... Obviously they're sturdy.”
The tent faced one of its greatest challenges last week when storms hit the borough, flooding much of the town and bringing down trees and wires with high winds and heavy rain.
Tom Grant said the tent held steady.
He said his wife reminded them of the tent Tuesday morning and they rushed over to make sure it was OK.
“I think we just had to tighten some ropes,” he said.
Other than that, it was like it never happened.
This summer the Grants are focusing on raising awareness through the various summer events going on around the region.
“We're a partner project with Rotary International,” Tom Grant said. “We're going to be at Cranberry Community Days next week, we'll be at Horse Trading Days ... wherever we're invited we'll go.”
For more information or to get involved in Shelter Box, visit its website at www.shelterboxusa.org.
“We're always looking for volunteers,” Tom Grant said.
