Giving back
Building habitats for Australia’s wildfire-impacted wildlife
May 27, 2024
(Above) Efforts to aid Sydney Wildlife Rescue are just one element of the 19th annual global TELUS Days of Giving, where more than 80,000 team members volunteer in hundreds of communities across the globe, helping give back 1.5 million hours of volunteer time.
Australia and Canada have much more in common than sharing vast land masses, and extreme weather. Unfortunately, climate change is significantly contributing to the intensity and length of wildfires in both countries, which makes them increasingly difficult to predict and onerous to manage.
The first few months of Australia’s 2023 bushfires ravaged more wild space than the entire 2019-2020 season. Meanwhile, the area burned in Canada’s 2023 wildfire season was greater than
half the countries in the world
. The changing landscape not only sets the scene for future extreme weather events, but also puts wildlife species, especially those that are threatened and endangered, under even more pressure to survive.With a growing presence across Australasia and a commitment to lead meaningful social change, TELUS, a global technology company based in Canada, had 180 team and family members construct habitats for displaced wildlife with
Sydney Wildlife Rescue
. These new sanctuaries will become a crucial part of the organization's efforts to rehabilitate and support rescued wildlife.“Our TELUS team is incredibly committed to driving positive change and giving back to the communities where we live, serve and operate,” said Navin Arora, Executive Vice President, TELUS and President, TELUS Business Solutions, TELUS Health, TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods, and TELUS Partner Solutions. “With a legacy of giving that spans over two decades, it’s truly with a global mindset that we look to connect communities with our world-leading networks, drive innovation, support environmental sustainability, and keep people and businesses connected to what matters most. We’re proud to continue building a friendly future for people worldwide, and excited to be volunteering with causes like the Sydney Wildlife Rescue."
With a growing presence across Australasia and a commitment to lead meaningful social change, 180 TELUS team and family members recently joined with Sydney Wildlife Rescue to build habitats for displaced wildlife.
Partnering with like-minded organizations
Sydney Wildlife Rescue is active in the greater Sydney Metropolitan Area with a mission to rescue and care for sick, injured, and orphaned native wildlife and to safely release them back into the wild. They have several initiatives dedicated to rescuing wildlife, including:
- A mobile care unit for wildlife, the first of its kind in Sydney that was instrumental in treating injured wildlife during the devastating 2019-2020 bushfires in New South Wales
- The Waratah Park Rehabilitation Facility, home to iconic Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, which provides facilities and enclosures to rehabilitate animals prior to their release in the wild
- Wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release efforts performed by more than 350 wildlife carers responding to over 13,000 calls per year through their 24/7-hour rescue and advice line.
The Rescue is 100% volunteer and relies on donations and corporate sponsorships to fund training, equipment, materials, medication, food and more.
You couldn’t help but notice the strong sense of community and collaboration as TELUS and Sydney Wildlife Rescue team members worked together to provide Australian wildlife with much-needed respite from the impending bushfire season.
A culture of giving
Efforts to aid Sydney Wildlife Rescue are just one element of the 19th annual global TELUS Days of Giving, where more than 80,000 team members volunteer in hundreds of communities across the globe, helping give back 1.5 million hours of volunteer time. TELUS team members, families, friends and retirees have contributed more than $1.7 billion in cash and in-kind contributions, and volunteered 2.2 million days of service over the last 20 plus years.
In addition to its globally unmatched volunteerism, TELUS is a world-leader in sustainability, committed to helping make the planet healthier for generations to come. Since 2000, they have contributed over $185 million in cash donations and in-kind contributions to support humanitarian and disaster relief efforts, including those impacted by unprecedented wildfires.
This year’s volunteerism builds on the 1,000 hours that Australian-based team members gave to their communities teams in 2023. Last year, team members in Melbourne packed the equivalent of 19,000 meals at Victoria food bank, while others operated radios at a marine rescue, worked the land to grow food for the local community at Perth City Farm, and supported local food security at the Adelaide food bank.
Making the world a better place, together
Joined in the belief that digital technology and a giving spirit can solve some of the world’s biggest problems, TELUS and Sydney Wildlife Rescue are using their expertise to address climate change and create a powerful force for positive change that transcends borders.
For more information about Sydney Wildlife Rescue, visit
https://www.sydneywildlife.org.au/donate
and to make a donation, visit https://www.globalgiving.org/donate/13764/sydney-wildlife/
For more information about TELUS, visit
https://www.telus.com/en/social-impact/giving-back/telus-days-of-giving
.
