AN INSTAGRAM model has raised over half a million dollars by offering nude selfies to her followers in return for donations to help the Australian bushfire crisis.
Kaylen Ward — also known as “The Naked Philanthropist” — raised the staggering amount (£265,000) in just two days after offering to send naked photos in exchange for donations to wildfire relief funds.
Ms Ward kicked off the unconventional fundraiser after scrolling through devastating images of the Australian bushfire crisis on her social media feed and feeling the fires weren’t getting enough international attention.
So she took matters into her own hands.
Posting to her 176,000 Twitter followers, The Los Angeles-based model shared list of nearly 20 Australian organisations involved in fire recovery and response efforts, including the NSW Rural Fire Service, Victorian Country Fire Service, Red Cross, Rotary and Salvation Army.
Ms Ward wrote: “I’m sending nudes to every person who donates at least $10 to any one of these fundraisers for the wildfires in Australia.”
“Every $10 you donate = one nude picture from me to your DM. You must send me confirmation that you donated.”
She said she initially hoped to raise “a few thousand dollars”, and even chipped in $1000 herself.
Ms Ward, currently on holiday in the Caribbean, says the response was so overwhelming she has hired four staffers to help her sift through the thousands of direct messages, verify donations and respond with a steamy photo.
She said: “This sounds ridiculous but I’ve got people I’ve hired to help sort through the DMs. I’m also actually sending the pics I promised, one for each $10. Someone sent me $5000, so I’m sending 50 pics and videos.”
The unique Twitter campaign eventually spread to Ms Ward’s 50,000 Instagram followers, and on Saturday – despite having raised a significant sum that went directly to the Australian charities – Instagram deactivated her account, claiming she’d violated their guidelines about sexual content.
The 20-year-old shared a screenshot to Twitter that revealed her page had been disabled because she broke the rules by posting “sexually aggressive content.”
Ms Ward denies she broke any rules and vowed to keep the effort going.
Ms Ward revealed the Australian bushfire crisis hit close to home as she and her family were forced to evacuate when the Carr fires struck in California last year.
The massive fire – which burned more than 80,000 hectares and left eight people dead, including three firefighters – forced her family to evacuate from the area by boat.
It was later revealed their home was lost to the horrific blaze.
Ms Ward is one of many social media influencers who have kick-started their own online campaign to aid Australia’s recovery.
Australian comedian Celeste Barber’s viral Facebook fundraiser campaign has so far raised over $30,000,000 (£21.2M).
Hollywood A-listers have also gotten involved, as Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban pledge $500,000, as has Australia’s Kylie Minogue and American singer Pink.
To date, 26 people have tragically lost their lives due to the Australia fires raging across the country since September, as firefighters battle to contain the dangerous blazes.
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