Mapso Supply, a clothing company founded in 2015 Maplewood natives and Columbia High School grads Adam Krakower, Ethan Pidgeon, and Thomas Dandino, has raised almost $900 toward the relief effort surrounding the devastating Australian wildfires.
100% of the contributions are going directly to the NSW Rural Fire Service, an organization supporting first responders, animal rescuers, and victims. The fire service is working at the front lines to slow the destruction and get help to those who need it.
While the company has surpassed their original fundraising target, they are still welcoming contributions. Donate here.
From a blog post on January 6: “On Saturday morning, we opened up a fundraiser via GoFundMe and posted to Instagram pledging to donate $1 for every share of that post, until we reached 500 shares (a $500 contribution). The goal was to raise awareness, provide a straight forward way for people to help, and lead by example. We were shocked by the response. We quickly hit and surpassed the $500 mark, and generous individuals continued to make donations of their own. Today, we transferred 100% of the funds generated from this campaign over to the NSW RFS – a total donation of $1,213.05 AUD, or $841 USD.
We’d like to thank all those who have helped us raise awareness about this issue, and especially those who have donated themselves.”
Here’s more information from Mapso Supply’s website:
As you’ve probably heard by now, apocalyptic fires are raging across Australia. Since September 2019, 23 people and 500 million animals have been killed, 12 million acres have been burnt, and thousands have lost their homes. The worst, experts say, is still yet to come. We believe it is all of our responsibilities to help, as the impact of these fires will be felt across the world.
Satellite photos show bushfires scorching Australia’s South Coast. (Copernicus Sentinel data 2020)
We have decided to start a GoFundMe, from which 100% of proceeds will be donated to the NSW Rural Fire Service, an organization on the front lines supporting first responders, animal rescuers, and victims in New South Wales, where fires are at their worst. We urge you to consider contributing – these fires are devastating to Australian ecosystems, inhabitants, and wildlife.
But the damage doesn’t stop there: forest fires release carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas, while destroying the trees that are vital in sequestering it. Fires like these really do affect the whole world; even though these effects can’t immediately be seen or felt by us now, it is our responsibility to do what we can to mitigate them.
Of course, the money we raise can’t put out these fires. It will, in reality, play a tiny role in the effort to contain them. Nonetheless, if we can encourage those in our community to do something, it is our hope they may play it forward and continue to do so in their own lives. We must start somewhere.
If you’d like to contribute to our GoFundMe campaign, click the link below:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/mapso-for-aus
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay updated on our progress. Thank you!
