My ever ambitious aim was to donate at LEAST $10,000 to where it was needed, and we are WAY PAST there already, and more pledged monies are still to arrive!
All members interested in assisting, are asked to PayPal anything at all they can spare, to me at - admin [at] stampboards dot com - or for those with no PayPal account, direct to my bank account (by far the most preferred for oz donors) - 032199 - 824096 (where the first 6 digits are the 'BSB' number.)
Not everyone has PayPal, so I can also accept donations via ANY credit card, even Amex, and I bear all card merchant fees. Use https://tinyurl.com/GlenOrder and mark there as "Bushfire Donation"
Sadly, this crisis is not even remotely over - huge fires are still burning and Bushfire Season has 2 months to run so ongoing assitance will needed.
This shows the CURRENT Bushfires. In EVERY state. Remember Australia has the same land area as the Continental USA, but we have way less than 10% of USA population or resources, to battle these.
Everyone reading this globally, is aware of the unprecedented catastrophe occurring in all States of Australia right now. Smoke and fires here are covering an area the size of Europe, the BBC TV just reported. The Australian Navy has evacuated towns of people, who were forced back to the waterline coastline by these massive and very fast moving fires.
1000s of totally destroyed homes and buildings nationally already, and a fast rising human death toll sadly. Over a BILLION animals have perished in NSW alone. News reports confirm many of these people were uninsured, so have lost it all.
This Continent is bone dry after years of drought (Global warming is a 'total myth' correct Federal Government?) and any fire now moves with ferocious speed and intensity. A cigarette butt carelessly tossed from a car window etc, can and has, soon burnt many houses to the ground.
We have been overseas in China, India, Thailand and Nepal for recent weeks, and are in Kathmandu right now writing this, and this tragedy has been the lead news items on BBC News and CNN etc, each day for those weeks.
Like everyone, I am sure, one feels quite helpless and dazed, and powerless to do anything to help, and everyone, even if not directly affected, wants to assist in some small way.
The generous members of stampboards have come to the fore several times in the past in such tragedies, and I am sure they will do so again.
Members generously donated about $20,000 to the Burma Cyclone Nargis appeal in 2008. We had a man on the ground, that we knew from our visits there, buy tents, plastic sheets, candles, cooking pots, canned food, fresh water, sacks of rice, and cooking oil etc, and take them by boat directly to many of those left homeless and without any food or shelter in the ensuing downpours. Our aid literally reached survivors days before ANY foreign NGO could get into the country, as the Burmese Military stymied all relief support for a week. Details below -
https://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6174%20&start=100#p5032421
In the tragic Victoria bushfires a few years ago, where senior member here, the late Gary Brown (GJ50) tragically saw his son, and daughter-in-law, and all his 3 grandchildren sadly killed, members here also raised a large sum, and donated that to a Memorial Tribute there in Kinglake in Victoria, where their family home was burnt to the ground.
And other appeals and worthy causes too, we have generously supported in the past, so we have a long and a superb track record of acting fast and effectively in many areas of crisis and destruction.
This tragedy is unfolding - indeed getting even worse as I type this, and the Bushfire season here has only just started, so sadly more bad news is guaranteed in the weeks and months ahead.
Those affected need every ounce of help we can offer. AND RIGHT NOW.
A hot meal, a cup of coffee, a bottle of water etc, and kind and compassionate words etc, will not bring anyone's home or livestock back sadly, but in a situation of shock and tragedy, it does show that someone cares, right there and then.
Ditto the brave firefighters, who mostly are unpaid volunteers, and who risk their lives to save others and their homes - for them also, these Salvation Army Support Vans might be able to assist them too, in some tiny way, and lift morale, if we help fund many more of them.
Salvos by Mid Januaury had served 225,000 meals to the front lines, via 165 Emergency centres.
All members interested in assisting, are asked to PayPal anything at all they can spare, to me at - admin [at] stampboards dot com - or for those with no PayPal account, direct to my bank account (by far the most preferred for oz donors) - 032199 - 824096 (where the first 6 digits are the 'BSB' number.)
Not everyone has PayPal, so I can also accept donations via ANY credit card, even Amex, and I will bear all card merchant fees. Use https://tinyurl.com/GlenOrder and mark there as "Bushfire Donation"
Send PayPal from overseas in whatever currency you wish, to save you the nasty currency conversion fees, that I will gladly pay, and it will be passed on in a lump sum each few daysm and reported here, and donation receipt shown. (See posts of my donation receipts below.)
Everything helps, and a few 100 members donating just the cost of a beer or a glass or wine or a pizza etc, will create an impressive tally, and directly help a LOT of those affected. 8)
For the 100s of members overseas are looking on helplessly, and wondering how to assist - you actually CAN.
Also in the past, we encouraged folks to offer stamp items for sale via a HIGHEST BID in a WEEK, in the For Sale Forum, noting the proceeds would go entirely to this Bushire Appeal, and members here bid generously. Head such offers as "Bushfire Appeal Auction of .........."
We normally do not allow Auctions, but for these appeals make an exception. See them, support them, some superb generosity shown here - or start one here yourself -
Me, I'll donate 10% of all sales of my material made here this month on stampboards - so buy something that you want and need, at the normal discounted price, and YOU still donate by doing that. 1,000s of my stamp items for sale are here - https://www.stampboards.com/viewforum.php?f=27
Donate direct if you wish, but please do SOMETHING. Add a note here that you have donated to our appeal by all means - no need to specify WHAT you donated, if you do not wish to - but just showing solidarity and support will be great to see. Some members often prefer to remain anonymous, as we saw in the past, and cetsainly has occured often here, and choose not to post here - that of course is entirely your choice, and is respected.
Stampboards charges ZERO to join, ZERO to use, and ZERO to buy or sell or swap or exchange anything. So please make a modest donation, and regard it as your ''Annual Dues''!
State and Federal Government are slow and lumbering and cumbersome at any time, and this disaster was FAR worse, being in the usual annual Parliament recess of course. So this disaster could not have occurred at a worse time, and near all civil servants of all types, State and Federal, are on the usual lonnnnng, paid, Xmas/New Year holidays until mid-Janaury or so.
It seems to me all Governments were clearly confused and foundering until first weeks of January, with little plan for weeks, or more important almost no staff on duty to implement them, even if they had one, as nothing remotely on this scale has ever occurred here, and so widely.
The ''leadership'' shown by our Prime Minister was to fly with his family to Hawaii on holiday, First Class, at taxpayer expense, while the country burned. He was also pretty inept in the week or two since since he returned, it seemed to me. Clueless.
Flashy paid TV ads at vast sense outlining his thought bubbles, none of which was actually OCCURING. Our PAID Military should have been in full support roles from mid December nationally and were not ever considered it seems.
BBC and CNN have both showed for days, footage of Morrison being booed and jeered and ran out of town in his limo, by one group of furious residents who lost their homes. His government has been warned for YEARS in detailed reports, this was a clear disaster in the making, and near nothing has been done, as his Goverment strenously denies global warming even exists.
Those losing their homes want some real support and assistance right NOW, and not in 3 months, after they fill out 200 pages of Bureaucratic forms.
Both our Houses Of Federal Parliament, who surely work the least sitting days of anyone on the planet, do not re-convene until February 4. I kid you not. And near all vanished on lavish vacations on their Free Gold Passes for them and families, from Dec 3 -
https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/parl ... inal-2.pdf
Stampboards is a true GLOBAL COMMUNITY, and we show time and time again that we DO care, and that makes me very, very, proud. 8)
Thanks in advance - EVERY member CAN assist here - small or large donations - it all helps enormously. People Power.
By all means pass this link onto your family or friends or contacts, or Facebook or Twitter or blog contacts etc - the FINEST of causes to support -
https://www.stampboards.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=89068 or https://tinyurl.com/FiresOz
Glen