A charity book club, which helps fund emergency shelter for people displaced by conflict and disaster all over the world, is celebrating its five-year anniversary.
ShelterBox Book Club is one of the last charity subscription book clubs left in the UK and every six weeks invites its members on a journey, discovering the countries where the charity works.

ShelterBox Book Club, which has hundreds of members across Greater London gives readers the chance to see the world through another person’s eyes, while providing tangible
support to people affected by conflict, disasters, and the climate crisis.

The international disaster relief charity specialises in emergency shelter. It has helped more than 2.5 million people across almost 100 countries and is currently
responding to the Morocco earthquake, and flooding in Libya.

Helping to fund its work around the world is ShelterBox Book Club, which was formed in November 2018 to raise money while sharing stories from around the world. It
has thousands of members across the UK who, with every book they read, help fund emergency shelter for people they will never meet.

Book Club member
Catriona Paget
lives in Peckham, London. She says: “The ShelterBox Book Club has helped me to read amazing books from all around the world that I would never have found on my own and to meet new people from across the country who also care
deeply about supporting families after disaster.”

ShelterBox is supporting people displaced by conflict in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Chad, and Mozambique. It’s also responding to
the worst drought to hit East Africa in 40 years, monsoon flooding in Pakistan, and earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria.

Head Bookworm at ShelterBox, Catherine Thornhill says: “The people our charity supports have often had to leave behind their homes, belongings, livelihoods, and
sometimes loved ones too.

“Our book club is raising funds to help people who need it with different combinations of emergency shelter, and basic items like water filters, mosquito nets,
and blankets, to make the biggest difference for communities after disaster.

“The difference this book club and our members are making to people all over the world is astonishing and sometimes I have to just stop and let that sink in –
it’s remarkable.”

Five years on from when it all began, the book club has just reached its next huge milestone – one and a half million pounds.

“It is completely humbling that ShelterBox Book Club is thriving five years after it started and we’re so grateful for the wonderful support we’ve received from
our supporters,” says Catherine.

“Our books take us all around the world, immersing readers in cultures from countries where ShelterBox works. We’ve read stories by women from Afghanistan with
‘My Pen is the Wing of a Bird’, the Malawian story ‘The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind’ by William Kamkwamba, the Japanese story ‘Sweet Bean Paste’ by Durian Sukegawa translated by Alison Watts, and ’We Are Displaced’ by Malala Yousafzai.”

Members get the chance to vote for the next compelling read from a shortlist of three specially selected titles. These won’t be any old page-turner though; they’ll
be hand-picked by ShelterBox’s Head Bookworm. A copy of the most popular book will arrive in the post for members to enjoy with a letter telling them about a family they’ve supported through their membership.

Members can attend online events discussing books with other members and get involved in exclusive live Q&As with some of the authors.

To find out more about ShelterBox Book Club, visit shelterbox.org/book-club/.
Memberships can also be gifted in subscriptions of six- or 12-month packages.