TOMS RIVER – East Dover Elementary School students have raised more than $8,000 to help all wildlife that have been affected or destroyed by the Australian bush fires.
Third grader Olivia Frantantoni established the idea of “Coins for Koalas and Kangaroos” when she saw how destructive the bush fires were to the animals and wild life in Australia. She asked fellow students to bring in any loose change each day to school. Her classmate Benjamin Kempner heard of her idea and wanted to help. The duo gave each classroom in their school a bucket for classmates and staff to collect their loose change.
Within one month, the school raised over $4,000 dollars for the cause, which was more than they ever expected.
With news of the East Dover students creating this fundraiser, the Zoological Society of New Jersey wanted to support the students and made a deal that they would match the school’s donation. This brought the grand total to over $8,000 to be donated to the Wildlife Warriors Foundation at the National Zoo in Sydney, Australia, which is run by the family of Steve Irwin.
The school plans on hosting an assembly with representatives from the Zoological Society to present the donation.
