 One Florida man is canoeing the entire Mississippi River to raise funds and awareness about the Shelter Box program. Eric Elsie arrived in Bemidji Monday night after paddling his way from the Mississippi River headwaters. Rowing down the Mississippi has been a lifelong dream for Elsie and partnering with the Rotary Organization has made the journey a more meaningful experience. The canoe trip is being used as a tool to promote the Shelter Box program. Rotary and Shelter Box have been partners from basically the beginning of our existence. Shelter Box was the idea of a Rotarian. Like I said we're Rotary's global project partner for disaster relief. A lot of our support comes from Rotarians. Rotarians are often the first people that we speak to when we get into country about what the needs are, how we can arrange transportation. A lot of times they work as translators for us in other countries so Rotary and Shelter Box are amazing partners. Elsie was found 90 days traveling the Mississippi River taking the time to enjoy the landscape and making stops along the way for speaking engagements. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.