Texas State Aquarium to Match Donations for Australia Bushfire Relief

February 4, 2020

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – With a matching gift fundraiser, the Texas State Aquarium is helping supporters make twice the impact in the fight to help Australian wildlife recover from a period of disastrous bushfires.

100 percent of donations given through the Aquarium’s fundraiser at www.texasstateaquarium.org/australia will go to Zoo Victoria’s Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund,  which is working to help the animals that have been injured, orphaned, or displaced by the devastating spread of bushfires. The Aquarium will also match each donation, up to a total of $10,000. Guests can also provide a donation through a Facebook fundraiser, which is pinned to the top of the Aquarium page at www.facebook.com/txstateaquarium.

“Accredited zoos and aquariums have a unified goal – to help conserve and protect wildlife, both at home and abroad,” said Tom Schmid, Texas State Aquarium President & CEO. “When we saw the heartbreaking losses to Australian wildlife, and the incredible work being done by local organizations like Zoo Victoria, we knew we had to do whatever we could to help. Through this matching gift fundraiser, we hope our guests, members and other supporters can join us in giving, and together, we can make a difference for both the wildlife and people of Australia.”

The 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, which began in June 2019, has so far burned an estimated 72,000 square miles of land, including valuable wildlife habitat, and killed one billion animals, with smoke from the fires affecting an even larger area. While news coverage of the incident has decreased in recent days, many fires are still raging throughout Australia, and even after they’re extinguished, conservationists and wildlife rescuers will need significant resources to cope with a massive influx of injured and orphaned wildlife and find a way to either introduce them back to their habitat or find them new homes.

Numerous fundraising efforts have sprung up across the world since news of the fires first broke, with over $500 million raised by the public, although costs to help with wildlife recovery are expected to run into the billions. Donations from individuals can quickly add up though, the Texas State Aquarium says, and even small donations, especially when doubled through the Aquarium’s fundraiser can make a world of difference for affected wildlife and the people helping them.

The matching fundraiser will run through the end of March or until the Aquarium reaches its goal of $10,000. Each donation from the public will be tax-deductible.

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