It is just too much.

Have a sewing machine and a heart? In the wake of recent bushfires throughout South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales that destroyed at least 27 homes, the International Fund for Animal Welfare have appealed to the public to donate homemade mittens to help them treat the paws of koalas who were burned trying to escape the fires.

I repeat: Mittens. For Koalas.

In the history of good causes I don’t think there’s ever been one where there is so clearly a lack of any reason not to get behind it. No money? That’s fine, they recommend you use some old cotton t-shirts or sheets. No time? Hush, it’s two pieces of material sewn together and the IWAF encourages first time sewers to try. Not close to the donation site? They have a postal address for donations. They are koalas and their paws are sore. There are no excuses.

Koalas, according to their website, “are one of the worst casualties of bushfires” because they move so slowly (awwww), and the IFAW needs cotton mittens to cover bandages while the burns heal. You’re clearly already on board with the idea, but if you needed any more convincing, the IFAW’s call for donations on their website will leave you a blubbering, mitten-sewing mess.

“Imagine the cry of a baby koala, separated from its mother through the haze of bushfire smoke. Koalas are one of the worst casualties of bushfires. On a normal day, they spend about 18 hours asleep in the fork of a tree and even when fully awake, they are slow-moving creatures with a top speed of only 10 kilometres an hour.

In a fast moving fire front, they are often the first to perish. They just sit there and wait to be rescued. If their paws are burned, they can’t grip and are at risk of falling out of the tree and while koalas can bite and scratch, once rescued, they are really docile creatures who will sit and let you treat them. No other species is like that.

Koalas with burns to their paws need to have them treated with burn cream and wrapped in bandages. They then need special cotton mittens to cover the dressings. All this needs changing daily so we’re asking if you can help us by sewing koala mittens – as many as they can before the fire season truly hits.”

There’s a pattern available if you want to help out.

According to the IFAW, response has already been overwhelming:

Mittens on koalas. An excellent idea made even greater because of the mere possibility that it was inspired by It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.