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How To Help With The Australian Bushfires — From Wherever You Are In The World

Source: Reuters/BusinessToday.in

Many people from both inside and outside Australia have been asking what they can do to help, so we’ve compiled a list of resources, such as where to donate and what other actions you can take from wherever you are around the world.

How to help with Australia’s bushfire crisis

By now the whole world must be aware of this year’s horrendous wildfire season, and how much has been lost in Australia. With a death toll of 20 people and more than 1,000 homes destroyed. Firefighters are struggling to contain the fires as they sweep the southeast coast—New South Wales has been hit especially hard—and thousands of residents and tourists alike have been evacuated from the region. 

If you’re outside Australia and need a comparison, they’ve so far seen 5 million hectares burn in Australia since 1 July. The 2018 California fires saw 1.8 million hectares burn, while the Amazon fires burned 900,000 hectares. 

Since this was reported Australia has had even more fires – people spent their New Years Eve on the beaches they were told to evacuate to, because all the roads to safety were blocked. 

Many people from both inside and outside Australia have been asking what they can do to help, so we’ve compiled a list of resources, such as where to donate and what other actions you can take from wherever you are around the world.

US presidential candidate hopeful Bernie Sanders said the fires, which have killed 20 people and more than 500 million animals, should spur “aggressive” action to tackle the climate crisis. Mr Sanders warned: “What is happening in Australia today will become increasingly common around the world if we do not aggressively combat climate change and transform our energy system away from fossil fuels. The future of the planet is at stake. We must act.”
So far the fires have killed 20 people and more than 500 million animals US presidential candidate hopeful Bernie Sanders said the fires, which have killed 20 people and more than 500 million animals, should spur “aggressive” action to tackle the climate crisis. Mr Sanders warned: “What is happening in Australia today will become increasingly common around the world if we do not aggressively combat climate change and transform our energy system away from fossil fuels. The future of the planet is at stake. We must act.” Source: AP/Independent

Donate to help Australian families and animals

  • Donate to local fire brigades in the state of New South Wales, which is especially at risk this weekend.
  • You can also donate to the families of firefighters who have died while on duty.
  • Thousands of animals have died in the fires, with estimates as high as half a billion animals killed since September. Help support the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New South Wales, which is assisting with evacuation and rescue efforts for animals affected by the fires.
  • Give to the emergency fund for Wires, a group that rescues wildlife and relies heavily on volunteers and donations.
  • The koala population in Australia is already declining, and the fires have left them even more vulnerable. Donate to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, which has rescued more than 30 injured koalas and is at work building drinking stations for wildlife in impacted regions across New South Wales.
  • Support families affected by the fires by donating to the Salvation Army’s disaster appeal or the bushfire appeal fund set up by the St. Vincent de Paul Society. The fund tells you how your donation amount will help those in need: Giving $50, for example, can provide food for an evacuated family.
  • The best way to help is through monetary donations. But if you’re based in Australia, you can donate clothing and other items to victims in need through organisations such as Givit.

The fires, burning since September, have intensified over the past week, with a number towns evacuated. High temperatures and strong winds are forecast for the weekend, creating further fire risk. Twenty people have so far been killed - including three volunteer firefighters - and about six million hectares (60,000 sq km or 14.8 million acres) of bush, forest and parks have been burned.
Record-breaking temperatures and months of severe drought have fuelled a series of massive bushfires across Australia. The fires, burning since September, have intensified over the past week, with a number towns evacuated. High temperatures and strong winds are forecast for the weekend, creating further fire risk. Twenty people have so far been killed – including three volunteer firefighters – and about six million hectares (60,000 sq km or 14.8 million acres) of bush, forest and parks have been burned. Source: BBC

1MillionWomen.com.au suggest the power of a letter

First up, if you’re in Australia

‘Write a letter to your local MP. No matter which side of parliament they sit on, or whether or not you think they’ll listen, they need to hear your story, and they need to hear what you want done about it. We’ve written a guide on what to put into this letter, or if you don’t have time to put a letter together, then make a call. Post an image of your letter or of you making a call, tagging us or hashtagging #fireback on Instagram or Twitter so we see your letter so we can share it. If you’re only on Facebook, send us a Facebook message with the pic. Here’s that guide again. Let’s flood their offices with messages. We need our politicians to step up on climate action right now.‘

If you’re outside Australia

‘Keep putting pressure on your government to act on climate change through attending protests and writing letters. Some of our letter writing guide might help you with this – you could use the Australian fires as an example, as well as examples of how climate change is affecting you where you live. If you’re coming into an election, vote for the politician with the best climate policies, and if you have the time, volunteer. Prevention is always better than a cure, anyone who has lost their home in a fire will tell you. Keep taking action in your daily life as well, making the switch to public transport, choosing a holiday location that’s closer to home so that you can drive or get the train there, or switch to a bank that isn’t investing in fossil fuels.’

From an article first published by 1MillionWomen.com.au 

1MillionWomen are women and girls from every corner of the planet building a lifestyle revolution to fight the climate crisis.

Animals are utterly defenceless against the bushfires. To be directed to Adelaide & Hills Koala Rescue GoFundMe campaign, please Click Link?
Donate to Adelaide & Hills Koala Rescue GoFundMe campaign Animals are utterly defenceless against the bushfires. To be directed to Adelaide & Hills Koala Rescue GoFundMe campaign, please Click Link? Source: GoFundMe/Adelaide&HillsKoalaRescue

Donating from anywhere in the world

If you’re able, giving money is probably the best thing you can do, suggest Australia-based climate action group 1MillionWomen. It allows charities to help people affected by fires, or the people themselves, to have the flexibility to use the money in whatever way they need. Most charities at this point are asking that donors don’t send in items such as clothing or food, as often they will be items that are no longer needed, or they might be too difficult to distribute, and they end up taking up needed space.

Here are charities, organisations and communities that will put your funds to good use. They all accept credit card, so you should be able to make a payment and help, whether you’re within, or outside Australia.

Australian Red Cross

The Australian Red Cross is supporting people affected by fires in New South Wales (NSW), Queensland and South Australia (SA). They have 60 evacuation centres across NSW, and five across Queensland. At these centres they’re offering psychological first aid, and helping people get in touch with their family and friends. They also are providing $2000 emergency grants to people who have lost their homes in the fires. You can donate by credit card here or by money order, cheque or over the phone at Commonwealth Bank branches.

St Vincent de Paul

While the Red Cross is helping people face more immediate impacts, Vinnies is helping people in the long term, working to provide them with clothing, food, groceries and emotional support. You can donate to the Vinnies bushfire appeal by credit card here.

Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund (GERF)

The East Gippsland fires raged over New Years, turning the skies a deep, dark red. At the time of writing, 17 people are still missing, and police and fire and rescue services are still telling people to leave their homes for safety, as they expect the fires to continue, or get worse in the next few days.

GERF is working to provide immediate relief to people who have been affected in the area, providing food, shelter, clothing, utensils, furniture, bedding, and resources for children’s education. 100% of donations are going to the community, with no costs being deducted, helping families while they wait for insurance and government claims to be processed. Donations can be made via Paypal here, at any NAB branch across Australia, or you can send a cheque or money order to Gippsland Emergency Relief Fund, PO Box 508 Traralgon VIC 3844.

GoFundMe

Hundreds of communities and families have created Go Fund Me pages which you can donate to and directly support people who have lost their homes or loved ones.

Go Fund Me is currently working to vet and verify these pages to ensure legitimacy, but if you’re not sure yourself, you can always check by looking at the comments from people donating, to see if they’re related to, or know the recipients.

You can find campaigns to donate to by searching "bush fire", then looking through the results to see who to donate to. We found this pretty overwhelming, but it helped to remember that while none of us can help everyone, we can all help someone. Together we can make a big difference for lots of people.

If you’re in Australia, at least one of the top trending campaigns on the GoFundMe home page will be a bushfire campaign. One of these right now is the campaign for the Cudgewa community (located near Albury, on the border of NSW and VIC) where many in the community are still fighting fires, without much food or water, and no power. They have listed the supplies they’re fundraising for, and have explained the situation they’re facing. 

You can also donate to the Adelaide Hills Koala rescue, who are going through fire affected areas to help any koalas they find alive, as well as other wildlife, livestock and pets. Check out their fundraiser here.

Port Macquarie Koala Hospital

The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital have had volunteers go through the fire affected areas in Port Macquarie, (prime koala habitat) to find any koalas that were alive. About 30 koalas have been found and cared for so that they can be released again.

Initially the hospital had plans to also distribute 30 automatic drinking stations around burnt areas to help with koala and wildlife survival. Since the hospital has now raised over 2 million dollars, this amount has increased to 100 drinking stations across New South Wales. 30 of these have been installed in the last month, and the hospital has purchased a truck that can carry 1000 litres of water to fill the stations up.

They’re now also planning on creating a wild koala breeding program after the state is believed to have lost over 350 koalas in the fire, when the NSW koala population was already suffering due to deforestation. Both of these projects will also be used to research the best wildlife rehabilitation measures after bushfires, and the koala hospital will be sharing this information with other organisations so that they can do the same.

Support Port Macquarie Koala Hospital by donating to their GoFundMe page here, or adopting a koala here.

Source: 1MillionWomen.com.au

‘I want you to do just one simple thing. When these fires have stopped, and the towns impacted are safe and trying to regain some sense of normal, I want you to plan a road trip. Go with empty Eskies(ice boxes), empty cars and low fuel. Go and spend your money, stay in their hotels, buy from their shops, camp in their campgrounds, buy their gifts, buy their fuel, buy bread and milk,. Beyond rebuilding, they need continued and long-term support to get back on their feet, and your empty Eskes make more of a difference than you could ever imagine.’ — Tegan Webber #gowithemptyeskies #onesmallact
What Australians and visitors can do to help looking ahead ‘I want you to do just one simple thing. When these fires have stopped, and the towns impacted are safe and trying to regain some sense of normal, I want you to plan a road trip. Go with empty Eskies(ice boxes), empty cars and low fuel. Go and spend your money, stay in their hotels, buy from their shops, camp in their campgrounds, buy their gifts, buy their fuel, buy bread and milk,. Beyond rebuilding, they need continued and long-term support to get back on their feet, and your empty Eskes make more of a difference than you could ever imagine.’ — Tegan Webber #gowithemptyeskies #onesmallact Source: Facebook/AndreaNicholas

10 THINGS WE CAN DO TO HELP COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE

Global warming is a major contributing factor to the fire crisis in Australia. Here are some of the things you can do to help fight climate change:

1. BUY LESS STUFF: THE TORONTO TOOL LIBRARY HELPS YOU TO REPAIR STUFF INSTEAD OF BUYING NEW THINGS

The Toronto Tool Library enables people to borrow things they just need once, at a nominal cost, encouraging a sharing economy and more respectful use of our resources. Find out more

2. AVOID SINGLE USE PLASTIC: 10 BITS OF PLASTIC YOU CAN QUIT TODAY

Think you’re powerless about plastic pollution? Wrong! Here are 10 everyday plastic items you can quit today and help the environment. Find out more…

3. BUY LOCAL AND SEASONALTOP 5 REASONS TO BUY LOCAL AND SEASONAL

Why buy local? We are likely to have heard the argument for why local food is better for the environment, all those air miles, refrigeration units and plastic packaging, creates a huge carbon footprint. In addition we can probably also see how this positively affects our local economy and community. Find out more…

4. EAT LESS FISH AND MEATTHE TOP 10 REASONS TO CONSIDER GOING VEGAN

Many people are concerned about losing weight, eating better, getting healthier, and doing more to make the world a kinder place. The good news is that you can accomplish all these goals by going vegan—and you’ll enjoy delicious, satisfying meals as well. Find out more…

5. DON’T BUY STUFF — DO STUFF: SPEND YOUR MONEY ON EXPERIENCES, NOT STUFF

If you think investing in something you can see and touch forever would deliver the best value, think again! Here are 8 good reasons to spend your limited time and money on experiences, not stuff. Find out more…

6. HOME SWEET HOME INSTEAD OF FLYING TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD, DISCOVER COOL PLACES CLOSER TO HOME — MAKE A LIST OF 10 THINGS TO EXPLORE IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY! Find out more…

7. BUY THE CHANGE — USE YOUR PURCHASING POWER AS A FORCE FOR GOODCHOOSE A BANK THAT TAKES THE PLANET’S INTEREST INTO ACCOUNT — BUY SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS THAT LAST!

8. HELP THE HELPERS11 Wildlife Organisations You Should Know

Animal welfare activists give voice to species that cannot speak. It turns out that as the world becomes more aware of the various dangers faced by the wildlife, so the web flourishes with sources for wildlife protection. Find out more…

9. #TRASHTAG: THE COOL NEW VIRAL CHALLENGE TO CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT

For 25 Of The Best Responses To #TRASHTAG Challenge, Find out more…

10. CHOOSE GREEN ENERGYCOAL IS ON THE WAY OUT: NEW STUDY FINDS FOSSIL FUEL NOW MORE COSTLY THAN SOLAR OR WIND

Around three-quarters of coal production is more expensive than renewables, with the industry set to become out-competed on cost by 2025. Find out more…

10 things you can do today to help save our planet Small actions taken at the micro-level can add up to big changes on the macro-level. Small things we as individuals have control over, when done by millions of us, make a big difference. Here are 10 things you can do today to help save our planet. Source: Facebook/BrightVibes
Make an Impact

Pick something from the article above and take action on it!

If you have read this far, then something in you is interested in helping with the situation in Australia. The whole article is a plea for action, so go back to the article and find something to take action on, whether it’s writing to your MP about the climate crisis, or sending $5 to a koala rescue centre. You know you want to help.