Organisers with women's health charity Share the Dignity are urging the community to give generously after lockdown cancelled earlier attempts to assist women living in poverty this year.

A March donation drive was cancelled after just a week, and the nation-wide organisation is estimating that nearly half of the 886 charities requesting their aid this year will see their needs go unfilled.

READ ALSO:

Dubbo based volunteer Lisa Catelotti says the trend is very concerning.

She's been involved with Share the Dignity's donation drive efforts for four years and is concerned by the knock-on effects that will impact impoverished women.

"The March event was cancelled at the start of the second week we'd usually have," Ms Catelotti said.

"Close to 40% of what the Dubbo charities wanted and were hoping to receive is what we ended up getting that we could give to them."

The economic impacts of COVID-19 are also taking effect, driving many more women than anticipated to look for help from charitable organisations assisted by the Share the Dignity drives.

"A lot of our charities have said they're struggling to get the donations they need this time around because there's a lot more people struggling to get by at the moment and make ends meet," Ms Catelotti said.

While in most years the charity's donation drives in August and March would involve shoppers at Woolworths depositing sanitary items and other purchases like tampons into the provided donation boxes, due to the crisis the organisation will also be opening up cash donations in order to help charities in strife.

A collection point is still available for use at the Orana Mall Woolworths and Ms Catelotti is optimistic that people will chip in to help out.

"It's so easy to do and it makes such a huge difference in people's lives, it gives people their dignity back and it lets them get to work, it lets teenage girls get to school, it makes it much easier for other people," Ms Catelotti said.

"Pads are half-price this week, so you can quite easily get double the donation for the same investment."

Those looking to donate items can do so at Woolworths Orana Mall, while other donations can be processed online at the organisation's COVID appeal page.