Public Library of Catasauqua held a fundraiser Feb. 12 for WIRES, an Australian wildlife rescue organization based in New South Wales.

After the horrible destruction from recent wildfires in Australia, WIRES has been faced with an unprecedented series of emergencies. More than 12 million acres of land were burned in the fires, displacing over 800 million animals in New South Wales alone.

An estimated one billion animals were affected throughout the entire country.

For $11, the library, located at 302 Bridge St., provided registered participants with an empty kangaroo plush, the stuffing to fill it and a star to wish upon and place inside the kangaroo. All materials were provided by Noah’s Ark Animal Workshop, which offers educational fundraising opportunities like this to local schools and organizations.

All of the money raised was sent directly to WIRES, along with a message on the library’s letterhead explaining what they had done, which was then signed by all of the participants.

Before closing up their kangaroos, the children were all asked to make a wish upon their stars. Although a few of the younger kids were more interested in the new toys, most of the children got the message and wished for the animals in Australia to get better.

When all was said and done, the children named their new plush friends and took them home, so they can always remember all the critters down under that they pitched in to help.

Future events like this are advertised inside the library, on its website at catasauquapl.org and on its Facebook page at Public Library of Catasauqua.