Tamworth Family Support Services and Officeworks fall short of donation targets

Consumer prices for food, clothing, housing, furniture, and transport have all inflated faster than households' disposable incomes, as the consumer price index rose 7.8 per cent in the twelve months to December 2022.

And, less spare change in pockets has meant some local appeals to raise a bit of money for those doing it tough, have come up short.

Part of the reason behind Tamworth Family Support Service's Green Shirt Appeal was to target the pressure on families during Christmas.

Funds raised went towards purchasing sanitary items, personal care items, back to school essentials, and counselling for those in need.

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The fundraiser came close to it's goal, falling short just $356 of it's target of $2,500.

"We're incredibly grateful for any money that was raised, so although it was just short, we'll certainly aim next year," CEO Belinda Kotris said.

Cost of living is "absolutely" hurting how much people are able to donate to charities, she said.

"I think at the moment with the rising interest rates, it's having a huge impact on families, the cost of groceries, schooling, any of this stuff," she said.

"I just think people don't have as much spare funds around to do things like donate.

"People are very generous, but I guess some of the cash is harder sometimes."

Officeworks Tamworth holds an appeal bringing in the return of the school year with The Smith Family every January.

With three days left before deadline, the fundraiser is on track to fail to meet its $6,000 goal.

The store's appeal is sitting at approximately 70 per cent of it's target, Tamworth Officeworks store business manager David Rose said.

"The cost of living is definitely playing a part in donations in general and everyone's feeling the pinch for that," he said.

Funds raised through the appeal vary year to year, between $3,000 and $6,000.

The wider economic situation has an effect on how much is raised, he said.

"Just like anything, there's years where business is good and things are going quite well, so I guess people are a bit more generous when they donate," he said.

"And then there's years where there's just that downturn, where things are not as well across the board, and then that impacts the donations, as well as any other metric within the shop."

The Back to School Appeal raises funds for The Smith Family's Learning for Life scholarship program, which provides extra support for disadvantaged students.

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