The initial goal was to help 10 bushfire affected children.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But when Leanne Shackell drives to Batemans Bay this weekend she will have lots of essential goods on hand to help 165 children and 71 families.
Ever since she started her Back to School Backpack Fundraiser, the Horsley mother-of-five has been inundated by people from all walks of life wanting to help.
Ms Shackell first used social media to reach out to South Coast communities hit hard by the recent bushfires.
"i just wanted to let them know what I was doing and if there was anything I could do to help," she said.
"I called on any families that were fire effected and required assistance to get their children back to school with a backpack full of supplies, to reach out to me.
"I'm happy to say that thanks to the help of generous people, businesses and organisations, we're going to be helping so much more people than I ever imagined.
"When I started my goal was to put smiles on the faces of 10 children.
"We as a community are going to put smiles on the faces of 165 children.
"The 71 families we are supporting are from Batemans Bay, Mogo, Bodella, Sunshine Bay, Maula Bay, Broulee and Moruya."
She will drop by Ulladulla on Friday to drop off backpacks to nine families. On Saturday she will host a special barbecue event at Corrigan Beach Park in Batehaven from 12pm.
The kids present will receive their backpacks and go in the draw to win two chrome book computers, an iPad 7th generation and a number of $50 Wish gift cards.
"We are also going to feed the families and put snack packs in all the backpacks for the kids. It is going to be great," Ms Shackell said.