2019/2020 Aussie Bushfires - Jordy's appeal for help

[jordyonbass]

Hi everyone,

I thought I would start a thread for this as it's gotten to the point now where I've been motivated into action. So far, the fires have taken out over 5 million hectares of land, killed hundreds of millions of native animals, displaced and killed people and has caused so much strife for so many.

I've spoken with people who live in Mallacoota where the worst has been, there is not many people getting into Mallacoota but consistently they have had Police, the Navy and The Red Cross. I've shed a lot of tears today listening to their stories.

Please friends, if you could consider a small donation to the charity of your choice that would be greatly appreciated by me and all the other Aussies here on PS. I am not pressuring you into any specific charity, however if you would like a recommendation then The Red Cross has been able to assist at Mallacoota where the worst has been. I am personally going to donate to them but that's not all I am doing.
On Saturday myself, my best friend, my brother in law and some other friends are taking a 4 hour drive to the Tallangatta fire station to drop off clothes, diapers, cases of bottled water and non perishable canned food. I might not be able to go in and fight fires, but I will get as damn close as I can to where help is needed and offer my assistance as well as a ride home for any families that need it.

PLEASE - I don't want this thread to be about who or what is responsible for the fires. That is not my intent. This is purely my cry for help from some of the most amazing people I have been fortunate enough to call my friends.

 

[maita13]

I’m deeply saddened by what‘s happening in Australia caused by the fires. Thank you for starting this thread and shall do what I can to help.

 

[kenny]

The Red Cross it is, mate.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

 

[Bron357]

I have a few friends affected by the fires, having to leave their homes with their pets and whatever will fit in the car. Fortunately all are well if very drained and stressed. Another friend is making sleeping bags and pouches for injured wildlife. They have to be 100% cotton or 100% wool. She was saying how no one could source any 100% wool blankets, everyone does doonas or polar fleece these days. Lightbulb moment. Yes, I’m the lady with EVERYTHING known to man in my attic including 2 x Queen size pure wool blankets and 2 x Single bed size pure wool blankets. Despite it being over 50C plus in my attic today (it was 45C outside) I foraged around and found them (OMG it was literally an oven up there) and then dropped them off at my friends house. She was absolutely thrilled.
All these small individual acts by many add up and make a big difference.

 

[jordyonbass]

Thank you @maita13 and thank you @kenny, I'm reluctant to post specific links but can at anyone's request for those charities and where they can donate.

@Daisys and Diamonds those numbers are just insane and make me so sad. We're already preparing our convoy with fire safety and high visibility gear in case we find ourselves in the worst. We're getting in as close as we can to the disaster zone with as many emergency supplies and retrieving as many displaced people as we can with the fire crews - but those numbers really have me nervous as it almost feels like the entire state is burning.

@Bron357 has anyone told you how awesome you are? Thank you so much for doing that!

 

[Dandi]

We've donated money and are collecting blankets, food and medical supplies for the injured wildlife who are far too many to count...but still we feel so helpless. Friends of ours were stranded for days on beaches with their children, and it guts me thinking how terrifying that must have been. We have also opened our pool house as emergency accommodation. The smokey skies here in Victoria are eerie and such a sad reminder of how horrific the conditions further north must be. Thank you for starting this thread @jordyonbass, and safe travels on Saturday.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Thank you @maita13 and thank you @kenny, I'm reluctant to post specific links but can at anyone's request for those charities and where they can donate.

@Daisys and Diamonds those numbers are just insane and make me so sad. We're already preparing our convoy with fire safety and high visibility gear in case we find ourselves in the worst. We're getting in as close as we can to the disaster zone with as many emergency supplies and retrieving as many displaced people as we can with the fire crews - but those numbers really have me nervous as it almost feels like the entire state is burning.

@Bron357 has anyone told you how awesome you are? Thank you so much for doing that!

I dread the news each night, it seems to get worse and worse
And i feel so bad when i see our beautiful sunsets you are sending us
Our PM is sending mote fighters fighters but its a drop in the bucket

The smoke in Sydney is unworldly

My heart breaks for the families who have lost loved ones and people who have lost houses and farms
And the wildlife
Even the not so loveable snakes and spiders

 

[MarionC]

I cannot read too closely the news every day as it breaks my heart. It is sad beyond comprehension. But I can donate. Jordy, thank you for your post. Be safe, be careful. XX

 

[RayRay]

Thank you @jordyonbass for what you’re doing. If there’s a way, I’d like to donate money to you for Saturday’s mission, just let me know, otherwise Red Cross it is. Australia holds a special place in my heart as I spent time there in my college years.

 

[jordyonbass]

@Dandi that is so awesome, thank you for collecting all that. I spoke with the Mallacoota resort manager today and was in tears hearing her distress. We're all going to get through this together.

@Daisys and Diamonds we really appreciate all the support we are getting flown in from overseas, we are only a small population on a huge land mass.

@Jimmianne thank you so much for donating, every little bit counts to help all our people and animals.

@RayRay I would greatly appreciate that, I am not sure if I can say this, but you can get in touch with me in private through our Opal website in order to assist us with our convoy. Otherwise Red Cross is just as good, they are there with our firemen and providing assistance.

You are all amazing, never forget that

 

[missy]

@jordyonbass good luck today on your trip to the fire station to drop off much needed supplies. Greg and I are donating to the Red Cross right now. Take care Jordy and be safe.

 

[jordyonbass]

@jordyonbass good luck today on your trip to the fire station to drop off much needed supplies. Greg and I are donating to the Red Cross right now. Take care Jordy and be safe.

Thank you so much for your donation, and thank Greg too. I should have added that the trip is a week from now, not today. We are gathering multiple car loads of supplies over the coming days to take up to the fire station, the community here has out-poured with supplies and we're so grateful. Most of all, I am really hoping that we might be able to drive displaced families back home.
That's the mission completed in my eyes.

 

[MarionC]

Jordy, can you also recommend a way to donate for the wildlife? I looked online and there are so many organizations now.
I believe sometimes people take advantage of disasters and make websites, so I want to be sure the funds would go to the wildlife. Thanks.

 

[missy]

Jordy, can you also recommend a way to donate for the wildlife? I looked online and there are so many organizations now.
I believe sometimes people take advantage of disasters and make websites, so I want to be sure the funds would go to the wildlife. Thanks.

Jimmianne I’m not Jordy and I hope he’ll chime in soon but how about the WWF?

Koala Crisis - Charity donations and appeals - WWF Australia

donate.wwf.org.au

How to Help Koalas, Evacuees, and Firefighters as Australia’s “Apocalyptic” Fires Worsen

Half a billion animals and 8,000 koalas have died in the fires.

www.cosmopolitan.com

 

[jordyonbass]

Thanks @missy, they are organisations that can be donated to but I would recommend WIRES (Wildlife Rescue). You can find them at www.wires.org.au
Hope this helps @Jimmianne

We've probably lost over half a billion wild animals from this, with some feared to now be functionally extinct. It feels like all my years of tagging marine apex predators for scientific research are years I could have spent doing more for wildlife *sigh*

 

[missy]

Thanks @missy, they are organisations that can be donated to but I would recommend WIRES (Wildlife Rescue). You can find them at www.wires.org.au
Hope this helps @Jimmianne

We've probably lost over half a billion wild animals from this, with some feared to now be functionally extinct. It feels like all my years of tagging marine apex predators for scientific research are years I could have spent doing more for wildlife *sigh*

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

@jordyonbass if there are any particular charities for schools and children please link.

 

[jordyonbass]

@jordyonbass if there are any particular charities for schools and children please link.

Unfortunately I don't know of any that specifically are helping schools and children in the disaster areas, at this point I think people are just trying to seek safety for their families.

 

[MarionC]

The WIRES website had looked good to me, so thank you Jordy for confirming that it is a good organization.

 

[Rockdiamond]

This is such a heartbreaking time - I truly appreciate the opportunity to assist directly to people on the ground helping, which we will do.
Please be careful and let folks know that the world is praying for their safety.

 

[Arcadian]

@jordyonbass Thank you so much for starting this thread. Not only do I have you guys but other Aussie friends and its so heartbreaking.

Greyhound community there is tight, I've heard some about whats happening but its usually those who are must get their dogs to a safe place. The news has been very spotty here in the US but as the fires continue and eating up more land, we're starting to hear more.

I had heard that USFS had sent some people there. Not sure how many.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

@jordyonbass I donated to The Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service & Brigades Donations Fund

 

[whitewave]

I’m waiting for the animal rescue to set up a go fund me or something for international people. So far they have only given a bank account where you can make deposits

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

Red Cross is my go to.

cheers--Sharon

 

[AGBF]

I was waiting for someone to start a thread on the fires in Australia. Sometimes I feel that the threads in Hangout are all about small, personal questions while huge, global issues go unnoticed.

You brought up the topic in the best possible way, Jordy, not simply to inform others but to give us ways in which we can help-albeit in very small ways.

Thank you.

 

[jordyonbass]

I am so overwhelmed by the support here, thank you so much everyone. I've had a few people reach out to me in private and have offered to send funds to help with our mission into the evacuation zone - this means so much to me. I started this thread in the hope that I might be able to persuade people to donate to a charity of their choice to assist the victims, I never once thought that people would want to help us with our private mission.

You all are so beautiful. Thank you so much.

@Rockdiamond thank you so much for your offer mate, you're now an honorary Aussie as are the others who are offering to help our mission directly.

@Arcadian you guys have sent us at least 40 firemen to assist, every pair of boots on the ground right matters right now so I'm very thankful.

Thank you for your donations @canuk-gal and @Asscherhalo_lover, every little bit will help.

@whitewave I hope that they will get that fixed very soon with everything that has been happening.

@AGBF thank you, I didn't want to politicize this thread and turn it into the blame game, now is not the time for it. It's time to get in there and get everyone we can to safety.

 

[D2B]

fellow Aussie here - I still can't quite believe what is happening around me. Woke up this morning to thick smoke outside again, at dangerous levels for breathing ( but where do you go for fresh air?)- I and everyone around me monitors the fires near me app regularly, and the days blur into each other, where we have watched fires and monitored how close they are with bags packed ready to go if need be.

We have friends who were trapped in Batemans Bay but are now out - a beautiful coastal town now surrounded by fire. the loss to humans, houses, domestics stock and wildlife is heart breaking - our beautiful koalas have no chance - this will impact their numbers and there are fears for their long term survival as a species.

I am sick of waking up daily to the fires - I want rain and fresh air.

I am heartened by the community spirit here locally and world wide that is reaching out to help - we have never had fires to this scale for so long. I donated to our local fires services ( all normal volunteers risking their lives to fight fire). My son and I bought food and and bottled water ( the last item is a real necessity) and dropped off for the fire fighters ( there was lines of cars of normal families dropping off items - every bit counts), we are all donating here and there spreading the money between fire fighters, families evacuated and animal groups- the plight of our native animals is heart breaking -

Some donation ideas if interested below:

https://www.facebook.com/officialcelestebarber/.
Celeste Barber is a comedian who has set up a fund for our firefighters money going direct into the firefighters trust mentioned earlier - but it has PayPal which is easy for donations -

or anyone can donate to the firefights fund direct via
their bank
https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/about-us/fundraising -

WIRES has been mentioned for animals - https://www.wires.org.au/donate/emergency-fund

The RSPCA is an organisation that helps all animals, not just wildlife, but cows, sheep, cats dogs etc

Donate to RSPCA NSW

Helping people help animals

www.rspcansw.org.au

and the following for Koalas

Help Thirsty Koalas Devastated by Recent Fires, organized by Port Macquarie Koala Hospital

The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has been overwhelmed by th… Port Macquarie Koala Hospital needs your support for Help Thirsty Koalas Devastated by Recent Fires

www.gofundme.com

I like many of my friends are over this, we want the rains to come and get back to normal -

I also hope we can take any lessons we need to from this so we and others countries dont have a repeat of this summer. Current predictions are that the fires will burn for another 2 months - you cant put out fires in our bushland on this scale. Meanwhile air purifiers are sold out online, face masks for smoke are hard to come by ( sold out locally waiting for more to be shipped in) and we monitor the news regularly and hope that communities directly in the line of fire can get to safety.

D2b

 

[Gemzy]

The WIRES website to donate for animal welfare and rescue has a PAYPAL option
https://www.wires.org.au/ - it worked, I just did.
Heartbreaking and catastrophic for nature in so many ways short and long term, as Jordy says some species will likely never recover and become functionally extinct.
Losing that green lung of forest and vegetation will have serious consequences further changing the climate for the worse - if there are ways of helping fund ecosystem recovery in the future please let us know.

 

[jordyonbass]

Thank you for the info @D2B, do you have any P2 masks to help restrict particle inhalation? They've become impossible to find in affected areas so we're also taking some up to the evacuation centre to be taken into the disaster zone by the firemen. I just want to say that the link you posted is for NSW firemen only (RFS), in Victoria it is known as the CFA and I believe their fundraising is done separately. It's not a competition for fundraising, but I hope people would consider a donation to both organisations. They've currently got the most bravest, toughest and courageous people on earth working for them.

@Gemzy I am unsure of any charities doing ecosystem recovery at this point but I will add them to the thread in the future.

UPDATE: we are receiving the first donations today, there are at least ten families in the area donating clothes, baby goods and other necessities that the CFA have requested. I'm starting to worry now that we won't have enough vehicles to do the trip so going to reach out to some of my friends this week in the hope that they will come for the trip.