BOSTON - Boston, Massachusetts, and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia are sister cities in this world and there is an inherent connection where the communities want to look out for one another. While wildfires have ravaged large swaths of land in Australia there is a need for many to do whatever they can to help. In an inspiring gesture, a number of chefs and restauranteurs based in Boston have banded together to help those in need.

Samuel Jackson, the proprietor of KO Catering & Pies, an Australian restaurant in Boston, has begun an event known as Boston Barbie for Bushfire Support, per NBC. This event will be a massive fundraiser for a number of organizations in Australia that need help fighting the wildfires. The Boston Barbie is a big buffet with Australian-style cuisine that will be crafted by major chefs in Boston like Uni's Tony Messina, Sarma's Cassie Piuma, BISQ's Alex Saenz, and many more. Over twenty chefs in the city have answered the call, as well as local businesses like Notch Brewing and Narragansett.

The fundraiser will be held on January 28 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Capo Supper Club in Boston. The tickets are $150.00. It can be tough to swing, but if you are fortunate enough, then it will be a worthwhile event to attend.

It is so incredible to see such an act of faith and goodwill to help people on the other side of the globe, people who will likely never meet these chefs. That's what being human is all about; we owe it to each other. We have to lift each other up and give the help that's so needed. None of us can navigate this world alone and we need other people. To do what we can to combat the raging climate crisis in Australia is to bring some goodwill back into this world, which can be beautiful if we do what we can to make it so.

I also would like to embrace this space to call out for help for the wildlife in Australia. WIRES Wildlife Rescue is one of the organizations that will receive a portion of the donations from this fundraiser, but there will also be large allotments provided to the Australian Red Cross and the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. It is important to raise money that can help save the lives of people, but I just want to make a specific point that we cannot forget about the animals and wildlife who are often helpless in the face of these wildfires. There are many people doing great work to help Australian wildlife, but we just cannot forget about them, too.

Image via Wikimedia Commons