Canadian backpacker, 23, spends her entire life savings on a trip to Australia to help animals injured in bushfires
- Kelsey Trimble, 23, landed in Australia last week to deliver supplies to animals
- She brought three suitcases filled with medical supplies to help those affected
- Ms Trimble spent the last year of her studies working to raise money for the trip
A young Canadian university graduate has used all her life savings to travel to Australia to help wildlife that have been ravaged by devastating bushfires.
Instead of celebrating the end of her studies, Kelsey Trimble, 23, left her home in Toronto behind, and touched down in Sydney last week.
She brought three suitcases filled with about 60kg of supplies to help the animals that have been affected by the fires.
Ms Trimble said she spent the last year of her studies working tirelessly to raise enough money for a trip, and after seeing how badly Australia had been affected she decided to take action.
The 23-year-old travelled from Toronto in Canada with donations from around 20 people
Kelsey Trimble arrived in Australia last week with three suitcases full of supplies to help animals affected in the bushfires
‘I noticed a fair bit of people were struggling to find a way to get their donations to Australia. And I then came up with the idea to take advantage of the luggage given to me with my flight and use it towards bringing donations over,’ Ms Trimble told News.com.au.
She was then overwhelmed with how many people from her community were willing to help out – with some leaving donations at her door step.
‘There are so many people in Canada working together to help Australia … We all want to help and are all working together to make that happen from the other side of the world,’ she said.
‘My love for animals is what drove me to begin gathering the donations … I had to do something instead of sit on the side lines.’
The 23-year-old spent more than $2,000 just to arrive in Australia and then hired a rental car for another $400.
Her suitcases were filled with around 20kg each of pouches, medical supplies and money to help the affected animals
Bat wraps were also packed in Ms Trimble’s suitcase as she travelled to Australia last week
She said she’s ‘exhausted’ after waking up at the crack of dawn to deliver supplies to the animals who have been affected.
These include fabrics, knits, medical supplies, food, towels, sheet and money.
‘I’ve never seen people come together like this before, absolutely amazing,’ she wrote on Facebook.
The 23-year-old received donations including 85 nests, 12 bat wraps, 20 pouches, two beds, 69 pouch liners and over $1200 in medical supplies.
Despite the exhausting days and expenses, Ms Trimble said it was ‘worth it’.
Violent bushfires have torn through the country with more than a billion animals expected to have died during the blaze along with 29 people.
The 23-year-old said she spent the last year of her studies working tirelessly to raise enough money to travel to Australia
Ms Trimble advocates for animal rights and said she knew she had to help out with Australia’s bushfire crisis