One bright spot in the ongoing COVID-19 and drought for regional farmers is the strength of the donations shown by those looking to contribute to relief efforts.
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Aussie Helper's organiser Katie O'Brien says the flow of donated goods, items and money to the charity's Dubbo depot has been inspiring.
"It's great, even with COVID taking a bit, everyone's been dealt a really difficult blow and there's been so much uncertainty, so to still have this amazing support and the community's thoughts is really incredible," Ms O'Brien said.
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While items and other goods have been rushing in, monetary and financial assistance has also been a big help, with farmers at times struggling to ensure that their new crops and depleted stock will make it to market anytime soon.
"The biggest thing right now are the monetary donations, we're not asking for enormous ones, but those little top ups to help out that people can do have been really good for the farmers, we've also had a lot of clothing too," Ms O'Brien said.
"Akubra actually got in touch and sent us a few fabulous hats, which is ideal heading into the summer, a lot of items like that and clothes are things that there just isn't the spare money for farmers to buy right now."
Ms O'Brien says that every little bit helps, but even she's been impressed by the lengths people have been willing to go in order to assist.
"People have been driving from Nowra with their hand-made blankets and snoods to help out during the winter, and I've actually got a lady coming today who'll be travelling all the way from Sydney; she's 83 and she's bringing us some knitted socks, blankets, shirts," Ms O'Brien said.
"People have really been taking the time to not only help, but make sure they're helping in the most useful way they can, which is great to see."
All monetary donations, which are primarily used to assist farmers with expensing fuel costs, will be spent locally, with Ms O'Brien aiming to ensure that 'everyone's kept rocking and rolling' despite how tough things seem at the moment.
"Work boots, overalls, things people tend to put off buying, anything like that is great to donate, farmers are always the last one on the list when it comes time to spend money, the things they need are always put off," Ms O'Brien said.
"If it's personal or comfortable, farmers'll almost always just say, 'we'll be right' and spend money on stock or machinery instead."
Keeping the support up is particularly important heading into the Christmas period at the tail-end of the year, with the mental drain and stress associated with the holiday period being a big concern for Aussie Helpers.
"Financially, it's still extremely tough, it can be very difficult and taxing, the majority of the areas are still very hit and miss with rain and still very dry," Ms O'Brien said.
"Without everyone looking out for each other and working together, it'd be very hard, knowing that people care and that people are supporting them and understand how important they are, it's huge for the farming communities right now."
Donations can be arranged online at https://aussiehelpers.org.au/donations/