Hingham Boy's Koala Fundraiser Clears $117K For Australia Animals

HINGHAM, MA — A Hingham 6-year-old’s ambitious goal of raising $1,000 for animals affected by the massive Australian bushfires has already surpassed that mark more than 117 times over. Caitlin Colley, mother of Owen Colley, said Tuesday that the GoFundMe campaign the family set up had hit $5,000. By Thursday night, the campaign was up to a staggering $117,225.

Those donating $50 or more were to receive a small clay koala bear handcrafted by Owen.

“We are humbled beyond belief — your generosity toward fire-affected animals, and to a little boy doing his part to help them, is staggering,” Colley posted on the GoFundMe page. “Your donations, messages, and support have brought us to tears. And now, we have a lot of clay koalas to make!”

The Colley family, which is from Australia, is donating the money to Wildlife Rescue South Coast, which is building aviaries, boxes and enclosures for displaced animals, and helping individuals set up feeding stations on their properties so animals whose homes and food sources have been destroyed have somewhere to go.

It is estimated that more than 1 billion animals have been killed in the fires.

Colley she was talking with Owen about the fires when he became concerned about the number of homes and animals destroyed or killed in the historic fires. They then came up with the idea of trying to use his love of making the clay animals to raise money for those affected.

“They are reaaallllly cute!” Colley said.

The donations quickly started pouring in, but they really picked up steam when news stations began to report on the Colley family’s initiative.

Go here to make a donation or purchase one of Owen’s clay koalas.

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