People all over the world gave generously in the aftermath of the unprecedented Black Summer bushfires, and the community-driven Mallacoota Bushfire Support Fund has been included in the list of top fundraisers of 2020.
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Thirty-nine per cent of all bushfire aid funds raised were from overseas, from every continent, demonstrating how profoundly Australia's plight touched the world.
According to GoFundMe, globally, $43.92million was raised to support the immediate relief and long-term recovery efforts for Australian families, communities and wildlife affected by the devastating fire season.
Mariska Ascher and her husband Martin are the faces behind the Mallacoota Fundraising Group, which was already in existence prior, but since the fires has raised more than $400,000 via both local fundraising and a GoFundMe campaign.
The GoFundMe campaign has attracted more than $313,000 from 3300 donors, highlighting the power of giving not just for immediate relief, but longer term recovery projects.
Ms Ascher said so far the donations have been used to purchase equipment for the ambulance service and medical clinic, trailers for water carrying equipment and much more.
"It's been absolutely changing for Mallacoota, the GoFundMe campaign has been the icing on the cake, we have been able to purchase so many things here we wouldn't ordinarily have access to," Ms Ascher said.
Administering the funding has required Ms Ascher to work 30-50 hours per week throughout the year and her gratitude for the donations is very evident.
"We have spent money on emergency services and equipment, including a new 4WD vehicle for the fire brigade and trailers for water supply," Ms Ascher said.
"We recognised an opportunity to purchase big ticket items we can't normally get for our community.
"The SES will get a new vehicle and have received a generator, we have bought a number of defibrillators for the Ambulance service and have been able to organise a communications system to save them travelling to complete training," she said.
Wrist and ankle splints, a fluid warmer, a vein finder, a sleep apnea machine for testing, a slit lamp for eye injuries and an automatic CPR machine have also been added to the medical resources now available to the community of about 1000 people.
Residents and visitors to the area have previously had to drive to either Bega or Orbost in order to access much of this crucial medical equipment.
$100,000 of the donations were put aside for wildlife and Ms Ascher said many people had specified what they wanted money to go towards when donating to the fund.
"The sooner we can get this all going, sooner we can get on with our lives too. It's been fantastic but we didn't really know what it would entail, we have never done this before. The important thing is that every cent goes back to the community," Ms Ascher said.
"When we found out there were 150 people who had lost homes, we were stressed about what to do with money coming in, it was very sensitive.
"It has been extremely hard because of the emotional factor of not being able to help these people in one way, but we have been able to help in other ways.
"We realised there were so many things needed which would benefit everybody, as we are so remote, and that our loyal community were never going to get any of these things unless we fundraised for them.
"It makes me happy to think we have been able to provide so much, items that were really needed for life-threatening situations," Ms Ascher said.
Mallacoota Fundraising Group sells books, calendars and bags at Sprout Cafe in Eden. The book 'The Day Mallacoota Turned Red' can also be purchased at Tura Beach newsagents and Collins Booksellers in Merimbula and online.
The Mallacoota Bushfire Support Fund can be found here: https://au.gofundme.com/f/mallacoota-fires-support-fund
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Leah Szanto
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
