Area co-ordinator Sylvia Paice, who for years has co-ordinated the collection of the shoeboxes in a region stretching from Cobar to Wellington and Gilgandra, said generous local donors had smashed last year's total of 1674 and had gone on to surpass this year's target of 1800.

"It was absolutely extraordinary, with Dubbo and the regions doing better than ever, and many new people donating that we hadn't seen before," she said.

"Dubbo South Primary, for instance, contributed a record number - last year they did 60-something but this year they gave us about 170."

Earlier this year donors picked up or decorated their own shoeboxes and filled them with gifts such as teddy bears, stationery, items of clothing and personal hygiene products that would be delivered to needy children at Christmas.

Ms Paice said the gifts meant a lot to children who, unlike many children in Australia, did not receive gifts at Christmas and might not own any toys.

She said shoeboxes from the local region were expected to be sent to Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and possibly Vanuatu and Fiji.

"We had help from IPROWD students to load them onto a truck, Col Hayden Welding helped out with a truck and then Robert Holmes Transport took the shoeboxes to Sydney," Ms Paice said.

"All donated their time - it was a wonderful community effort."