When a September hurricane demolished the Bahamas, a group of crafty fly fishermen stepped in to help. Now they’re gearing up to help those affected by the Australian wildfires. And you can play a part.
If you can’t help with money, you can help with material talent. At least, that was longtime fly-tier and fly fisherman Josh Mills‘ idea when he heard about the hurricane in the Bahamas.
So, the fella tied a dozen flies, put them up for auction on his Instagram page, and an idea was born. It caught on throughout the community, and soon the hashtag #DozenForDorian was born.
Together, more than 130 folks auctioned off a dozen flies each in the comments of Instagram posts. The money was funneled through the Yellow Dog Community & Conservation Foundation.
In one month, the tiers raised $42,100 total and shipped charitable flies out across the country. The Yellow Dog Fly Fishing company’s charitable effort ended up totaling in the hundreds of thousands thanks to generous donations and efforts within the angling community.
“The Dozen for Dorian campaign was so uplifting to be a part of,” Mills said. “To watch the fishing community rally around a country that was hit so hard and to contribute so willingly to raising funds was so cool. “
Get Involved With #DozenForDownUnder
Mills has a personal connection to Australia; he lived there for a spell. But in seeing the wildfires spread, Mills felt the same sense of agency he did when the hurricane hit the Bahamas. He started to ring up his network of fly-tying pals, and they’re going all-in on the #DozenForDownUnder effort.
“There’s such power in the collective, and I see no difference in the opportunity to help our brothers and sisters down under who are getting hammered with unprecedented wildfire,” Mills said. “I am excited to launch this campaign and see what we can do for the angling community and more in Australia.”
