ShelterBox ambassador running nearly 70 miles for disaster relief

Media Contact: Jeremy Jacobs, Communications Director, [email protected]

JUNE 7, 2023 — Fairbanks area resident, Jane Lanford, is running nearly 70 miles over the infamous American Summit in the next three days to raise awareness and funds for ShelterBox, a global disaster relief organization.

Lanford is a ShelterBox ambassador, and the ultrarunner likes celebrate her birthday by pounding the pavement – nearly one mile for every year of her life. This year, she’ll be trekking nearly 68 miles on the Taylor Highway to Eagle, up and over the American Summit.

Along the way, she’ll be fundraising for ShelterBox USA. ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and life-saving humanitarian aid in disaster zones and conflict areas around the world.

“Here we go again!” she said in a Facebook post. “If you’re so inclined to help, as when I ran the Denali Highway two years ago, I’d like this run to benefit ShelterBox USA in its international disaster relief efforts.”

This isn’t Lanford’s first adventure for ShelterBox. Two years ago, Lanford ran the entire Denali Highway, covering 135 miles in 28 hours, and raising over $8,500 along the way.

“Jane encapsulates so much about ShelterBox: she’s relentless, resourceful, and does it all with a smile on her face,” said ShelterBox USA President Kerri Murray. “We are so grateful for ambassadors like Jane. They help ShelterBox do the critical work of helping those who have lost everything in a disaster or conflict.”

ShelterBox’s mission is no one without shelter after disaster. Currently, there are more than 100 million people around the world who have been forced from their homes by disasters or conflicts. For more than 20 years, ShelterBox has worked to help the most vulnerable, providing emergency tents, solar lanterns, water carriers and filters, mosquito nets, cook sets, and other aid to help people recover.

ShelterBox is the official project partner of Rotary International for disaster relief, and it has supported more than 2.5 million people in nearly 100 countries since it was founded in 2000.

Currently, ShelterBox is responding to the war in Ukraine, flooding in Pakistan, and has programs in Ukraine, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cameroon, among others.

You can find Lanford’s fundraising page here: GiveButter.com/seejanerun

To learn more about ShelterBox, please visit ShelterBoxUSA.org

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