February is here after a long January (at least it was for me) and I am so happy to be able to share with the readers of It’s Just Life our results for January for Comments for a Cause.

Our cause for January 2020 was a really special and unique one and many of you reading this were so enthusiastic about supporting our cause this month by leaving comments for Project : Music Heals Us

This wonderful organization has an outstanding mission statement and purpose:

To provide encouragement, education and healing through bringing high-quality live music performances and interactive programming to marginalized communities with limited ability to access it themselves, with a focus on elderly, disabled, rehabilitating, incarcerated, and homeless populations. 

Chris and I are thrilled to share that because of your comments on the blog this month we will be making a donation of $135 to help Project: Music Heal Us. Thank you to each of you who has taken the time to read and leave a comment.

You may be wondering why I posted a picture of this adorable koala bear. But then if you think about it long enough you will figure it out, won’t you? We love all things Australian due to our time living there when Chris was in charge of 7 sugar mills in Queensland. We loved being able to be in a different country and still stay in touch with many of the friends that we made during our short time there.

As you probably know there has been much devastation over the past month due to bushfires in Australia. Australia always has bushfires but this year they have been especially bad. Across the country, over 10 million hectares of Australian land has been burned to the ground. Over 1 billion animals have lost their lives so far, including thousands of koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, birds and other types of wildlife. 

I think it seems only right to help the wildlife of Australia somehow. Our Comments for a Cause recipient for February 2020 will be World Wildlife Fund Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund. The last report I could find states that more than 10.7 million hectares of Australian land have been burned.  At least 33 lives have been lost and over 2,700 homes lost. Of course the wildlife has also been affected.

According to WWF it is estimated that around 1.25 billion animals have been killed across Australia to date due to the fires.  This includes thousands of koalas and other iconic species such as kangaroos, wallabies, kookaburras, cockatoos and honeyeaters burnt alive, and many thousands more injured and homeless. This just makes me so sad.

So what will WWF’s Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund do?

• Wildlife response – including partnering with wildlife response organisations, communities and scientists nationally for a swift and effective response and recovery at scale.
• Habitat restoration for people and nature – including restoring forests and damaged wildlife habitat, stopping deforestation, including cultivating habitat connectivity, core habitat and Indigenous and rural fire management.
• Future-proofing Australia – including driving innovative solutions to help mitigate climate change, driving climate preparedness, species adaptation and long-term wildlife and nature conservation efforts towards securing Australia’s natural resources for people and nature.

WWF website

I hope you will join me here at It’s Just Life and come back often this month to comment. With each comment made on the blog during the month Chris and I will make a donation of 50 cents (capped at $500) to the bushfire recovery efforts through World Wildlife Fund in Australia.