Jim Leamy's letter in Disaster Aid Annual Report

Posted by Craig Clarke

From my early involvement in assisting with fundraising in 2005 to my assuming the chairmanship of the Board in 2009, it has been my distinct pleasure to see the tremendous growth of formerly, ShelterBox Canada and now our new identity, Disaster Aid Canada. While the Haiti earthquake catapulted us to one of the top 3% of Canadian Charities in terms of funds raised, it also brought to the fore the difficulties in dealing with a non- Canadian organization with no direct accountability to Canadian donors.

These matters came to a head in May of 2010 and we took the difficult but courageous step to change our name to Disaster Aid Canada and follow our own course.

It was a tremendously trying and rancorous experience terminating the relationship with our former agent.

I am proud to say that with the full backing of a truly dedicated board of Canadian Rotarians and the wonderful efforts put in by Don and Anne Ohlgren, our Executive Directors, and their vast network of Ambassadors, DART team members and the Rotary Clubs along with general public at large, that we are already ahead of all projections.

This is due in no small way to the excellent marketing program that is well tailored to the Canadian market that Don and Anne have developed and to the loyal support of so many of our donors who have continued their generous support and have shown their excitement and approval of our new, broadened and improved inventory of Disaster Relief equipment. The level of financial support coming in for our new line of tents, water systems, schools and medical tents is nothing short of phenomenal.

Our new products are already in two countries and we have distributed over 1000 Disaster Aid Family Kits to help over 10,000 victims of disaster. We have containers on the way to three more destinations to provide our much needed support as I write this report.

Thank you all for your continued support of us and our programs at Disaster Aid Canada. Jim Leamy, Chair.

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