The Intrepid Foundation has today announced that the emergency appeal has raised more than half a million dollars for the Red Cross in support of those suffering from the devastating bushfires across Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
“We have had such an overwhelming response to our bushfire appeal and doubled our original contribution to $200,000 to those who have lost homes and for community assistance during this crisis,” says James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel.
Launching on the 4 January, Intrepid Travel originally set out to match donations to their appeal dollar-for-dollar up to $100,000, which was later doubled due to overwhelming community engagement over the first 36 hours.
“During this crisis, it is important for businesses and communities to dig deep and donate whatever they can to those that need it most. So far the emergency appeal has raised a total of A$608,000,and we want to encourage everyone to continue to donate and give our fellow Australians some much needed support,” adds Thornton.
As it stands, the bushfires raging across Australia have already ravaged over eight million hectares of land, just over seven million hectares more than that of the recent Amazon Rainforest tragedy.
“We really appreciate this generous support from Intrepid, as well as all the amazing support we have been receiving from Australians and people overseas. Our specialist emergency teams are right now supporting thousands of people in evacuation centres and recovery hubs across Australia as these fires continue to impact so many communities,” says Noel Clement, Acting CEO from the Australian Red Cross.
As donations continue to come in from all over the world, the Intrepid Foundation will keep the emergency appeal open with Intrepid Travel covering all administrative costs. Meaning 100 per cent of all donations made through The Intrepid Foundation will be sent directly to the Red Cross Bushfire Relief and Recovery Fund.
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