TORONTO -- A six-year-old boy from Massachusetts has raised more than US$250,000 for Australian wildfire relief, making tiny clay koalas for donators.
When Owen Colley learned of the bushfires in Australia, which reportedly killed more than 1 billion animals, he wanted to help.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a huge animal lover and has been making clay characters for a while,鈥� his mother wrote on a . 鈥�(Together) we thought up the clay koala and offered it to friends and family as a 鈥榯hank you鈥� for donations for bushfire-affected animals.鈥�
In an interview with WBZ in Boston, Owen put the efforts in his own words:
鈥淭o help the animals who have been hurted by the Australian bushfires,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ecause helping animals is better than watching TV.鈥�
As of Tuesday morning, he had helped raise more than US$260,000 for Wildlife Rescue South Coast in New South Wales. His initial goal was just US$5,000. The intention was to send a clay koala to anyone who donated $50 or more and provided their address, but the response has been too overwhelming. Owen and parents adjusted their rules: anyone who donated by the end of Jan. 19 would receive a thank-you koala.
鈥淭hank you ALL for helping a little boy do a BIG thing,鈥� reads an update on the page. 鈥淥wen wishes he could send a clay koala to everyone in the world! We are so proud of this little boy and his kind heart.鈥�
With files from CNN
