Australian bushfire charities receive $500,000 Lewis Hamilton donation

Lewis Hamilton joins the raft of celebrities and sports personalities to donate towards fighting the horrendous bushfires in Australia.

After Daniel Ricciardo decided to raffle his 2020 Australian Grand Prix race suit to raise funds, Hamilton has donated half a million dollars (£384,000) towards the fight.

More than 2,000 houses have been destroyed, 24-lives have been lost and millions of animals have been killed.

View this post on Instagram

It saddens me deeply to know that over 1 billion animals in Australia died a painful death, no way out, not their fault. My love of animals is no secret and I can’t help but grieve for the defenceless animals thought to have died so far, pushing certain species closer to extinction. I’m lucky enough to visit Australia often and I know first-hand how beautiful the country is. Keep fighting Australia. I’ve spent some time speaking to people in Australia who are working at the heart of this and I’m filled with admiration for everything they are doing. I implore you to join me in thinking about the impact we are having on our planet. Let’s work together to make small changes, and encourage our family and friends to do the same, so we can help shift the direction we’re going in. I’m donating $500K to support @wireswildliferescue @wwf_australia and the Rural Fire Services. If you are able and haven’t already, you can donate too. Every little helps. Animals: @wireswildliferescue @wwf_australia Rural Fire Services: @nswrfs @cfavic @rfbaq @dfes_wa @cfsfoundation #TasmanianFireService #PrayingForAustralia

A post shared by Lewis Hamilton (@lewishamilton) on Jan 9, 2020 at 8:49am PST

"It saddens me deeply to know that over 1 billion animals in Australia died a painful death, no way out, not their fault. My love of animals is no secret and I can’t help but grieve for the defenseless animals thought to have died so far, pushing certain species closer to extinction," wrote Hamilton.

"I’m lucky enough to visit Australia often and I know first-hand how beautiful the country is. Keep fighting Australia. I’ve spent some time speaking to people in Australia who are working at the heart of this and I’m filled with admiration for everything they are doing.

"I implore you to join me in thinking about the impact we are having on our planet. Let’s work together to make small changes, and encourage our family and friends to do the same, so we can help shift the direction we’re going in.

"I’m donating $500K to support @wireswildliferescue @wwf_australia and the Rural Fire Services. If you are able and haven’t already, you can donate too. Every little helps."

Officials of the Australian Grand Prix are closely monitoring the situation ahead of the March 15 season opener.

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