The club has donated bags full of Christmas toys to the non-profit organisation, which provides services to homeless and disadvantaged people across the region.

Backpacks, DVDs, iTunes gift cards and books were among some of the toys donated, and will end up with Haven’s clients.

Zonta Club member Rosalie Lake said the club’s focus was to advocate and improve the status of women and children. 

“A lot of our work is supporting women who were victims of domestic violence, who often then become homeless and so do their children,” he said. 

Ms Lake said the club had donated toys every year at Christmas to different organisations in Bendigo and hoped the toys would put a smile on children’s faces. 

This year Zonta decided to collect toys for a certain age group. 

Fellow member Dale Little said she had worked with several organisations around Bendigo and realised that boys aged between 10 and 15 tended to miss out on presents during Christmas. 

“I have come to realise that boys from about 10 to 15, who are still boys that enjoy Christmas, are often the people who miss out on Christmas gifts,” she said. 

“You often don’t know what to buy a boy; so I asked members to think about what you might buy for a boy.”