In recognition of this, and to bring some Christmas spirit to those who are struggling, Country Hope has teamed up with Beyond Bank and are asking Griffith residents to find it within their hearts to donate a present for a sick child.

Founding director and regional co-ordinator of Country Hope Babs Donaldson said there was a big need for the good will in the community.

“We do have a lot of families who are doing it tough,” she said.

“These presents are for the local children in Griffith and the surrounding district and they will be so excited when they receive them, I just know they are going to love them.”

Mrs Donaldson knows from her own experience working with Country Hope how stressful the festive season can be for those with sick children.

“There was one year where I had the 1800 phone and I sent seven families to Sydney between Christmas and New Years,” she said.

“It is a hard journey.

“Having a sick child can be difficult financially, these kids are already going through a lot and they shouldn’t miss out on presents on top of that.

The appeal is also accepting gifts for the siblings of sick children, in recognition of the difficulty of having a care-free childhood when they live in fear of losing a loved brother or sister.

“They also suffer when a sibling is sick and we need to be there for them as well,” Mrs Donaldson said.

Customer relationships officer at Beyond Bank Josephine Zirilli said she had already been blown away by the generosity of the city in donating gifts, but encouraged more to get involved.

“We had one lady who has had a tough couple of years come in and she said to her son ‘not everyone is as fortunate as us’ and she was happy to take a tag and buy a present for one of the children,” she said.

“The generosity of the community and how people can look outside their own lives is amazing.”

The appeal will run until mid-December, presents can be donated at Beyond Bank.