For many around the world, the beginning of 2020 is a fresh new start where they set New Year’s resolutions, make preparations in their businesses for the new year, and get back to their normal day-to-day.
Here in Australia, many of us have something bigger to focus on: the Australian bush fire disaster sweeping the entire nation. So far, 10 million hectares of land have been burned, over 1800 homes have been destroyed, an estimated half a billion of our precious native animals and livestock have been killed, and 25 people have tragically lost their lives.
For fires that have been burning since late September 2019, it’s the last thing we all expected to carry with us into a new year, let alone a new decade. So instead of focussing on what social media trends will be big in 2020, or what tech tools will make your life easier right now, let’s turn our attention to being more mindful towards ourselves and our planet in the new decade. Starting off with the Australian bushfire crisis.
So how can you help? Luckily there’s heaps of ways! There are so many charities that are relying on funding from the public to do their magic for fire relief. With recent worldwide media coverage, we’ve been very lucky to see some major donations from celebrities around the globe – Celeste Barber, you glorious angel, we’re looking at you at your $45m fundraiser (at the time of writing). But there’s still so much more that can be done.
There are loads of charities that still require monetary donations to do their awesome work:
- NSW Rural Fire Service
- NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service (WIRES)
- Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
- The Salvation Army
- Australian Red Cross
- Vinnies
- Foodbank
If you’re looking for other ways to contribute, here are some of our favourites:
- Spend with local businesses who will feel the effects of the fires long after they’re extinguished, due to reduced tourism etc. Check out @spendwiththem set up by Turia Pitt.
- Offer your time and services at evacuation centres. Even just a thorough hair wash or a trim will help victims feel a little more like themselves again.
- Airbnb have enabled people to share free accommodation up until 16 January 2020 for those who are evacuating the fire zones. You can find emergency housing or list your property via the NSW or Victoria page.
- Donate specific goods that people need via Givit. The exact items people need are listed via charities and the public can match that or register the items they have, in case someone has use for them. This can be anything from nappies, to reading glasses, to school supplies. Remember, many people have fled their homes with no time to pack their belongings.
- Donate blankets, mittens, or knitted items to wildlife sanctuaries to use as slings and pouches for injured wildlife, like joeys!
- Tie fruit to scorched trees and leave water bowls out in fire affected areas for surviving wildlife. Make sure to balance a stick on the rim of any water buckets so smaller critters can climb back out!
For any of our Shortcuts users, if your salon operations have been affected by the bushfires please give our Customer Care team a call on 1300 667 374 (option 2) to see how we can help.
Don’t forget that practicing mindfulness for others and communities doesn’t start and stop with environmental disasters.
Late last year we announced our partnership with Hair Aid to support Hair Aid’s Community Cuts program (HACCS), an initiative that provides haircuts to local community members in need. This partnership makes it simple for your salon to donate.
It’s initiatives like this that make a real difference to people affected by homelessness, since just $2 can fund a haircut for a HACCS haircut for a community member in need.
You can add a tiny donation of $0.50 to each client’s service through your POS to support one of the most worthwhile causes in our industry. You can learn more about it here.
Together we can all make a difference in 2020 by supporting causes close to our hearts and communities.
