Scrappy All Around Creative Studios

Four words written on a piece of paper: “shelter, warm, comfort, dignity.” This is where ShelterBox began. Tom Henderson, the original founder of ShelterBox, turned with his idea to his local Rotary Club in Helston, England for support, and they took up the mantle. Today, over 20 years later, Rotary International is still a key partner. Here in the U.S., Kerri Murray is at the helm of the largest ShelterBox affiliate in the world. Since 2015, Kerri has personally overseen relief efforts for some of the most dire events in recent memory, including conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and most recently in Ukraine, an earthquake in Haiti, a typhoon in the Philippines and famines in Africa, just to name a few.







Links:







* ShelterBox USA* Rotary International* Rotary – Helston, England* Save the Bay* Direct Relief* Providence College* The Boston Red Sox (why not, she would’ve been great!)

Marie Haas has worked with, and touched the hearts of, some of the most vulnerable citizens in our society – kids with autism and their families. She began and grew a company in Singapore called Embrace Autism. It was the fusion of science and art, born of a passion to care, connect and communicate. But that’s not what she set out to do, at least not officially. She actually just wanted to dance.







LINKS:







* Marie Lynn Haas* Embrace Autism* The Autism Treatment Center of America* Emergent Improvisation* Marco Iacoboni’s UCLA Lab

In the mid- 1980’s, Debra Ruh was nurturing a successful career in the banking industry and looking forward to starting a family. But in 1987, her path took an unexpected turn after the birth of her daughter Sara. And today, that path has led her around the world to work with multi-national  companies, nations, the UN and more. As an advocate for accessibility and inclusion, Debra has dedicated her life to improve the lives those with disabilities.







LINKS:







* Ruh Global Impact website* Debra’s Podcast – Human Potential At Work* Debra’s bookstore* ADA.gov

Staci Tinkelman and Becky Pyles realized early in the Covid-19 pandemic that masks were going to become a critical need – not just for front-line medical staff, but for the community at large. By combining Becky’s sewing talents and the infrastructure at Staci’s printing company, Quaker Chroma Imaging, they realized that they could help those in need, and get some of their people back to work.







LINKS:







* Quaker Chroma Website

Michael Morin and his brother Bryan were beginning to gear up for a new year at their family-owned pizza shop in New Jersey. Then, out of the blue, Covid-19 changed the scope of what their bustling business would look like going into the Spring of 2020. Faced with state mandated closure of walk-in businesses, their first thoughts were of the 20 employees that were the cornerstone of their success. So, following the advice of their father to “always take care of the people who take care of you”, they took quick action to secure a $50,000 loan to ensure that they wouldn’t lose any staff. When word got out of their selfless act, the public response was immediate.







LINKS:







* Federico’s Pizza Website

Henry Salinas was called to service throughout his life – helping to tend farms with his parents as a boy, joining the Army as a young man and raising a family of his own. Then, he found an even greater mission: devoting his time, energy and passion to helping children in his hometown of Chandler, Arizona, find a better way forward than with the drugs and gangs that were destroying their neighborhoods and stealing their futures. He became a staple of his community and devoted himself to building a better path for countless kids. Henry passed away in 2017, but his legacy lives on.







LINKS:







* ICAN* Donate!