I posted way back in August about noticing signs everywhere about Australia.

Hearing ‘Land Down Under’ regularly on the radio, spotting a copy of Australian Artist Magazine when I was at a speaking gig, giving my sister some Yellowtail bubbles to celebrate her wedding planning (which also involved her trying on a dress from an Australian designer) and lastly, sitting at the December edition of Creative Mornings Ottawa with a friend.

Only to have this woman sit down shortly afterward, directly in front of me! She moved before the talk started but during Q&A she spoke and we discovered she actually IS Australian.

So many signs, even when I try to be nonchalant it’s like, “Bam! Yooooohooo. Look over here.” 👉🐨

In all seriousness, I shared a post about the last decade in review on my blog this week and it was largely about our first few years as a couple spent in Australia.

We have many friends and previous coworkers that were like family to us and we still keep in touch to this day, despite the now 15 hour time difference.

Regardless of omens and signs, with all of the news lately about the multiple bushfires, heatwaves and evacuations, the country and our friends are in our thoughts a lot.

We used to live in Brisbane and experienced the Queensland floods in 2011.

I did time with the disaster recovery centre when I worked with Qld Gov and was in awe of their resilience and camaraderie as a nation.

Australia is a country well used to extreme weather events but this is next level. There are rural communities doing things on their own without funding or access to resources.

Total affected area to date is around 15 million acres. 500 million animals. With Eastern cities and towns experiencing hazardous air quality.

If you haven’t seen the latest bushfire updates, Canada, U.S. and New Zealand have sent and are sending firefighters to Australia to help on the ground.

But there are also other ways you can help if you’re able to:

• BBC, New York Times and CNN have dedicated coverage, read up and spread the word via social media
• Donate to organizations helping victims and evacuees of the fires (Salvation Army, Australian Red Cross, NSW Rural Fire Service)
• Celeste Barber set up an amazing fundraiser on her FB page for the NSW Rural Fire Services – donate easily via credit card or PayPal and receive a receipt immediately.
• GIVIT – Goods For Good Causes Givit.org.au is another Australian registered charitable organization that was used a lot in 2011 to help disperse items in need to communities during the floods. You can donate items or money directly online, 100% of the proceeds go to the purchase of items required.