DiCaprio's Earth Alliance said Thursday in a statement that the organization started the Australia Wildfire Fund to help with an "international response to the catastrophic bushfires" currently raging in the country.
Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental organization will donate $3 million to help wildfire relief efforts in Australia.
DiCaprio's Earth Alliance said Thursday in a statement that the organization started the Australia Wildfire Fund to help with an "international response to the catastrophic bushfires" currently raging in the country. The Academy Award-winning actor co-chairs Earth Alliance, which was launched last year to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. Businesswoman and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs and investor and philanthropist Brian Sheth also co-chair.
The wildfires have scorched an area twice the size of the state of Maryland. The blazes have killed 25 people and destroyed 2,000 homes to date. The fires, fueled by drought and the country’s hottest and driest year on record, have been raging since September, months earlier than is typical for Australia’s annual wildfire season.
The fund will work with local Australian partner organizations including Aussie Ark, Bush Heritage and Wires Wildlife Rescue.
DiCaprio joins a growing list of other celebrities that have rallied to donate big bucks. Chris Hemsworth and Elton John each offered $1 million through social media earlier this week, and Pink, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have donated as well.
Metallica said they will donation $750,000 to a firefighting agency and emergency services agency in Victoria, while Phoebe Waller-Bridge said Sunday she would auction off her Golden Globes outfit and have the proceeds go to firefighter relief.
Enzohere on January 10th, 2020 at 07:00 UTC »
Before someone complains about it not being “enough” or tries to make some silly comparison about “that’s like an average person donating $25” please ask yourself one question...
Did you donate $25?
yew420 on January 10th, 2020 at 05:39 UTC »
I did this as a response to a negative post before. I am Australian and I am in awe and so grateful for everyone chipping in to help Australia. In terms of the money this is how donations can help us:
If all the money goes to the RFS they will able to do reduction burns over the next few winters so we won’t be in as much shit over the next few summers.
Additionally our rural fire service is made up of volunteers who take unpaid leave to fight fires, if they can get wage relief, they can still feed their families and pay the mortgage while digging deep to fight the fires.
If it goes to wildlife rescue we can save enough koalas and other native fauna so they hopefully don’t become extinct in the next few years.
If it goes to a few charities hopefully some people will be able to rebuild their lives.
If it goes to campaigning as get some traction for a progressive government to get in to make changes, then we may be able to delay a climate catastrophe by a decade or two.
Our government is doing nothing, nothing but paying companies like Cambridge Analytica to run disinformation against us in a desperate attempt to maintain some sort of popularity so they can maintain power next election. They are clowns who get in based on the bullshit that the Murdoch media feeds to the desperate, gullible and downtrodden.
Edit: to everyone who has donated or even thought about us over the past few months, thank you. There is a mentality of Aussie spirit here, where you help each other when shit goes down. Everyone helping us is well and truly displaying that Aussie spirit with the help, it has been completely unexpected, but totally appreciated by most of us.
Edit 2: I am grateful for the gold and silver. Please don’t waste whatever awards cost on me, others need it more, the money can go to better places. If you feel the need to give your hard earned dollars, go to the RFS in New South Wales or the Country fire authority in Victoria or another state fire service. Those guys are the most deserving and need support more than anyone.
XZTALVENARNZEGOMSAYT on January 10th, 2020 at 05:04 UTC »
Somehow people will be more mad.