Wanting to help those suffering from the 136 fires burning in Australia, 69 of which are not contained, Student Council will host a bake sale Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Prices are posted on fliers located throughout the school and all proceeds will be sent to the Australian Red Cross.
“We’re having a bake sale to raise money to donate to the Australian Red Cross so that they can help aid the fires in New South Wales and Victoria,” StuCo member Caleb Wales said.
Throughout the year the Energy and Wildlife committee has been doing different projects to help the environment, including recycling newspapers to make envelopes for cards handed out to kids at the Children’s Hospital, and everyone involved knew they had to do something to help Australia.
“We were asked what we should do and everyone in my committee had the exact same idea, it has to be Australian,” Wales said. “So then I said what if we just sold things.”
Because air quality in parts of Australia is 11 times what’s considered “hazardous levels” and approximately 14.7 million acres have burned, the Australian Red Cross has helped over 18,600 people affected by the fires, including the thousands of people currently staying in their evacuation centers.
“We checked the [Red Cross] website and the only thing they have available to donate is money,” StuCo officer Marisa Garcia said. “We were going to donate utilities since homes are damaged, but they only accept money.”
Australia normally experiences fire season, April through September, but because of record high temperatures, longer droughts, and human negligence the fires are worse than the 2018 California fires and 2019 Amazon fires.
“[I’m worried] about the fact that people are going to deny it being linked to climate change,” Wales said. “Millions of animals have died and it seems like people don’t realize the sheer quantity of that.”
With 28 people and half a billion animals dead, including nearly one third of the koala population, it’s important to remember that anyone can get involved and help as their are countless organizations accepting donations.
“Little things can make a difference,” Garcia said. “Just having a bake sale and raising money can make a difference in Australia.”
