The past few days I've watched the news reports in shock and horror, as the tragedy of the Victorian bushfires has unfolded.
Story after story of loss, devastation, terror, and hope have me on the very verge of tears most of the day.
I am a Victorian, and my family are in Gippsland, and I can't even begin to say how much I have appreciated the thoughts of friends and colleagues, people I see every day, people on the other side of the world and people I haven't spoken to in over 5 years who have remembered that and checked in with me over the past two days.
And like everyone I just really feel like I need to do something to help.
So, I thought I'd share just a handful of the ways you can help to - both by donation of money and in other ways too. I've popped some of the links in the sidebar there too, and will update if there's something new to share with you.
Donate MONEY!
Online through the Red Cross or the Salvation Army.
Or, if you'd rather, you can donate over the counter at any Australia Post outlet, at any Westpac, Commonwealth, NAB, ANZ or Bendigo bank branch
Donate BLOOD!
Burns victims need your blood! And will continue to need it as they receive treatments over the coming months.
The Red Cross guys are sure to be super busy with donations, so it is absolutely a good idea to register first.
You can find out where to donate through the search function on the Red Cross' donate blood website - just pop your postcode in and it will tell you your closest donation centres and whether a mobile donation unit is headed your way.
SHOP!
Some Etsy sellers have offered to donate part of or all proceeds from items tagged with "bushfire" to bushfire appeals. (Details of donations are provided for each individual listing)
Similarly, some clever crafters are holding ebay auctions of their goodies, with proceeds going to the bushfire appeals.
You can find out more about both of these, including listings of some of the lovely goodies for sale, at the handmade help blog.
Speaking of shopping, Coles supermarkets are donating all their profits on this Friday to the bushfire appeal.
I think we'll be doing our grocery shopping early this week, instead of waiting for the weekend!
CRAFT!
Handmade help is also collecting things made by you.
Meet Me at Mike's is one of the drop of points, and Pip says:
"We are concentrating on a long term donation approach - as donations of clothing and other items are flooding in at the moment. We would encourage you to make something special to donate to families who will be rebuilding or relocating in the coming months...
Items we are collecting :
Handmade toys, clothing, quilts and baby items.
Items for cooler weather would be fantastic too, such as knitted clothing, hats and scarves.
Crocheted and knitted blankets. This is a long term project - and Winter is coming!
We will collect and store any donations until the time is right to deliver them."
That's just a summary - click on over to Mike's for more info.
If you do, make sure you check out Pip's great long list of ways you can help - it runs down the middle column of the blog. There are lots of really good ideas, including things I would never have thought of. Like, did you know the Salvos want your old mobile phone chargers?
Another way to donate something (because, whilst I absolutely understand that the priority right now is money, I also think it is nice to donate a something for later. A something that will go from my hands to someone else's, and they'll know that people were thinking of them, you know?) is through Beyond Pink and Blue's Rainbow Comfort Packs.
The idea is to put together bags of goodies for the kids and babies who have been affected by the bush fires, which will then be given to the Emergency Relief Centers around Victoria. The bags will contain things like:
something to hold, cuddle, talk, imagine with (like a soft toy)
something they can play, do, look at, read (colouring book, book, puzzle.... needs to be compact and light to carry)
If you'd like to help out, you can read more about it on Monica's blog.
Here's hoping our wonderful firefighters can get the remaining fires under control before the weekend
xo
ETA: Ecoyarns also has some information on how you can help, including the following: Craft Items such as knitting needles, crochet hooks, balls of yarn, cross stitch or embroidery kits will also be collected and sent down at a later delivery date. Click on over to find out more
Story after story of loss, devastation, terror, and hope have me on the very verge of tears most of the day.
I am a Victorian, and my family are in Gippsland, and I can't even begin to say how much I have appreciated the thoughts of friends and colleagues, people I see every day, people on the other side of the world and people I haven't spoken to in over 5 years who have remembered that and checked in with me over the past two days.
And like everyone I just really feel like I need to do something to help.
So, I thought I'd share just a handful of the ways you can help to - both by donation of money and in other ways too. I've popped some of the links in the sidebar there too, and will update if there's something new to share with you.
Donate MONEY!
Online through the Red Cross or the Salvation Army.
Or, if you'd rather, you can donate over the counter at any Australia Post outlet, at any Westpac, Commonwealth, NAB, ANZ or Bendigo bank branch
Donate BLOOD!
Burns victims need your blood! And will continue to need it as they receive treatments over the coming months.
The Red Cross guys are sure to be super busy with donations, so it is absolutely a good idea to register first.
You can find out where to donate through the search function on the Red Cross' donate blood website - just pop your postcode in and it will tell you your closest donation centres and whether a mobile donation unit is headed your way.
SHOP!
Some Etsy sellers have offered to donate part of or all proceeds from items tagged with "bushfire" to bushfire appeals. (Details of donations are provided for each individual listing)
Similarly, some clever crafters are holding ebay auctions of their goodies, with proceeds going to the bushfire appeals.
You can find out more about both of these, including listings of some of the lovely goodies for sale, at the handmade help blog.
Speaking of shopping, Coles supermarkets are donating all their profits on this Friday to the bushfire appeal.
I think we'll be doing our grocery shopping early this week, instead of waiting for the weekend!
CRAFT!
Handmade help is also collecting things made by you.
Meet Me at Mike's is one of the drop of points, and Pip says:
"We are concentrating on a long term donation approach - as donations of clothing and other items are flooding in at the moment. We would encourage you to make something special to donate to families who will be rebuilding or relocating in the coming months...
Items we are collecting :
Handmade toys, clothing, quilts and baby items.
Items for cooler weather would be fantastic too, such as knitted clothing, hats and scarves.
Crocheted and knitted blankets. This is a long term project - and Winter is coming!
We will collect and store any donations until the time is right to deliver them."
That's just a summary - click on over to Mike's for more info.
If you do, make sure you check out Pip's great long list of ways you can help - it runs down the middle column of the blog. There are lots of really good ideas, including things I would never have thought of. Like, did you know the Salvos want your old mobile phone chargers?
Another way to donate something (because, whilst I absolutely understand that the priority right now is money, I also think it is nice to donate a something for later. A something that will go from my hands to someone else's, and they'll know that people were thinking of them, you know?) is through Beyond Pink and Blue's Rainbow Comfort Packs.
The idea is to put together bags of goodies for the kids and babies who have been affected by the bush fires, which will then be given to the Emergency Relief Centers around Victoria. The bags will contain things like:
something to hold, cuddle, talk, imagine with (like a soft toy)
something they can play, do, look at, read (colouring book, book, puzzle.... needs to be compact and light to carry)
If you'd like to help out, you can read more about it on Monica's blog.
Here's hoping our wonderful firefighters can get the remaining fires under control before the weekend
xo
ETA: Ecoyarns also has some information on how you can help, including the following: Craft Items such as knitting needles, crochet hooks, balls of yarn, cross stitch or embroidery kits will also be collected and sent down at a later delivery date. Click on over to find out more
What a great list of ideas. I saw the post about the handmade bags and the deadline of two weeks and thought I'd never be able to sew a bag and get it to Australia in that time frame. It's frustrating; my time is so limited at the moment. If anyone is collecting squares--something I can actually do right now, rather than a whole blanket--will you please let me know?
ReplyDeleteSomething else that was mentioned on the radio yesterday was clothes and shoes for men suitable for wearing to funerals. So sad.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link. I have already had a couple of bids.
ReplyDelete