ShelterBox

So very impressed with Maureen Johnson's personal quest to encourage donations to the UK-based international disaster relief charity ShelterBox.  Monetary donations are pooled to fund shelter boxes, which include high quality tents, tarps, blankets, water purifier, mosquito net, cooking stove and utensils, warm hats and gloves, and a small selection of children's activities, all of it stored in a sturdy plastic tub that in itself could have a variety of uses.  Better still, the charity assesses the needs of each deployment sight, adjusting the contents where necessary.

This morning Maureen Johnson offered up encouragement and an ARC of her upcoming The Last Little Blue Envelope as added insentive to donate.  She also agreed to donate the balance of money not collected to purchase a full shelter box (at a price of $950).  As the day went on, she tweeted with updates, and other authors (Scott Westerfield, Libba Bray, Holly Black, and more) joined the cause, donating ARC's of their own.  Six Shelter Boxes were funded today through this effort, and the effort will continue tomorrow.

Inspiring.  If you're on Twitter, follow along at #lastlittleshelterbox or @maureenjohnson.
To donate, visit Shelterbox.