blamebrampton: 15th century woodcut of a hound (Default)
blamebrampton ([personal profile] blamebrampton) wrote2009-02-18 01:38 pm

Thank you all!

I started on this post last night, and then the news that a volunteer firefighter from Canberra, who had gone down to Victoria to help with the still-active fires, had been killed when a burnt tree fell on his tanker. And the sheer injustice of it meant that I stepped away from lj and just ranted at the universe for a bit.

The universe kept on with its merry spinning, expansion and secret-keeping on the topics of gravity and dark matter, and the firefighter's family released a stoic statement saying that they were proud of him, and that he had considered himself duty-bound to go down after the Victorian fighters who had come up to Canberra during their terrible fires some six or so years ago.

Then the Westboro Baptist Church declared that they were glad god had killed hundreds of Australians in the fires. And suddenly I felt much chirpier -- indeed, thrilled to have an Australian passport -- because when the WBC hates you, you know you are doing things right.

Thank you so very much to everyone who has done so much for the Australian Red Cross, WIRES, TREW, the RSPCA, the Salvos and every other organisation that is doing such good work helping the people and animals of the fire-hit areas. Even people who could only give a few dollars have really helped to make a huge difference.

I've just realised that I wrote donator the other day, which only goes to show that I need more regular sleep.

[livejournal.com profile] pir8fancier 's fic auction topped out at US$300 with the fabbo [livejournal.com profile] lisa3353  being the winner, [livejournal.com profile] sansa1970 's auction was won by [livejournal.com profile] flaeyr  at US$200. [livejournal.com profile] bryoneybrynn  has run through all of her promised fics and icons, then done even more! Which means I can't do the maths, but thank you!

[livejournal.com profile] syllic  the marvellous medievalist auctioned her Merlin fic for US$100 to [livejournal.com profile] la_la_la  and [livejournal.com profile] cest_what 's bandom bonanza raked in $160. abusing_sarcasm raked in some dosh for mostly Drake/Josh, while [livejournal.com profile] thesamanthahope  was a love and paid $50 for a [livejournal.com profile] faithwood  fic.

The thrill of [livejournal.com profile] pushdragon  fic pushed people into fits of generosity and her $12 minumums became $20s, $50s and $80s. [livejournal.com profile] snarkyscorp  shelled out $80 for [livejournal.com profile] marguerite_26 's gorgeous prose, and then earned $110 through her own efforts, thanks to [livejournal.com profile] siberian_tyger .

[livejournal.com profile] femmequixotic , who is delightful, has raised at least $500 with her fics, and [livejournal.com profile] mad_maudlin  has pulled in a nice sum, too.

An especial thanks to [livejournal.com profile] piratesmile331  who is doing a brilliant job both spreading the word and funding TREW and to the lovely lovely [livejournal.com profile] thisgirl_is  who accidentally put her RSPCA donation through four times and then did not cancel any of them, because she is a darling.

You have all helped to rebuild lives for people, animals, wildlife and communities.

The death toll currently stands at 201, though it's not going to stay there. At least 30 people are still missing, and the police have brought in specialists to try and identify human bodies amid the ash.

Finally, the lovely bryoney suggested that it would not hurt to remind people there's a reason everyone has been pimping the same charities. These are the big or local groups that we know are doing good work down there. Other groups are also doing great jobs, but unfortunately there are also some scammers. If you find a group that you would like to donate to but are unsure of their credentials, check them out here at Scamwatch.

Oh, no, really finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAYS to [personal profile] alienor77310  and [profile] captainsiri !


ext_14590: (Myrtle)

[identity profile] meredyth-13.livejournal.com 2009-02-18 09:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Hey darling. I don't even know Piratesmile331 so it was wonderful to see your post. Please pass on a huge thank you for me.

As a matter of interest, little TREW, who had basically nothing in the kitty when this started, have posted a public statement saying that as of last weekend, they'd received just over $10,000 in donations in the week. Now compared to the Red Cross appeal etc, this may not look like much, but that money will go to buying feed and equipment over winter when the 'crisis' is past and donations of usable goods trickle off, as they inevitably will.

I can't thank everyone enough for helping. If anyone's curious to see what's being done, pop over to www.triplerequinewelfare.org and have a look - the website is updated and there's a summary of the first week, as well as ongoing news and a place where people can post messages to those who are fire-affected - just to let them know they're not alone, and that they have the thoughts and support of a larger world.

*hugs*