Ellen DeGeneres Launches $5 Million Fundraiser For Bushfire Crisis

Ellen DeGeneres is using her star power for good by launching a massive fundraiser for the Australian bushfire crisis.

The talkshow host says she's been moved by what she's seen on the news about the people and animals who have lost their lives and the others who have lost their livelihoods.

So she's started a GoFundMe with a target of $5 million.

Ellen told her fans: "I love Australia. I love Australia so much, I even married an Australian. A few years ago I got to see how incredible Australia is in person. We took our show there.

"And I fell in love with the country and the people."

"Wildfires have been burning for four months and with record-breaking heat, the winds are so strong, and it's getting worse.

"Thousands of people have been displaced. Homes have been burned. Lives have been lost. Nearly a half a billion animals have been killed. It's unbelievable. Nearly a third of their habitat has been destroyed."

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

After being online for just 10 hours, a whopping $335,000 has already been raised. That was thanks to a massive donation of $100,000 from Shutterfly, who's a partner with The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

No doubt with her absolute army of loyal fans, they will flock in their droves to help out Australia during its time of need.

One of her supporters, who donated $50, wrote: "Thank you, Ellen, for creating a GoFundMe page for Australia! My heart aches for the country, the people and the animals. Praying these horrific fires end and the healing process can begin."

The fundraiser is just one of many that are circulating the internet at the moment, including the incredible one from Aussie comedian Celeste Barber, which has so far racked up more than $45 million in donations on Facebook.

Facebook

Then you have all the celebrity donations like James Packer's $5 million pledge, $1 million each from the likes of Elton John, Kylie Jenner and Chris Hemsworth and his family, and then $500,000 from Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban and Kylie Minogue and her family and many more.

Stars have been flogging their prized possessions, like Shane Warne's test baggy green, setting up charity gigs, like the original Wiggles' benefit concert, or just helping to donate a load of stuff to help people get back on their feet.

While it's heartbreaking to see swaths of the country aflame, it's times like these when the generosity of people really shines through.

Let's hope that keeps rolling until the country is back up and running.

Topics: Celebrity, News, Bushfires, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie