Each year the Daylesford-based group supports more than 700 individuals living in the Hepburn region who are experiencing financial hardship and social exclusion.

The main event is the annual day of giving, to be hosted on December 23 this year, at which eligible individuals receive a hamper filled with gifts and food and a voucher to buy what they want for Christmas.

The event is hosted at the town hall, which is filled with thousands of dollars worth of toys for parents, or Santa, to choose from so children have four or five new toys to unwrap on Christmas morning.

In addition to the day of giving, the group also hosts a Christmas lunch at The Farmers Arms Hotel in Daylesford - for not only people experiencing hardship, but also for those who simply don't have anyone else to spend it with.

The group also provides a Christmas gift to each resident of two Daylesford nursing homes and partners with Central Highlands Rural Health to provide back-to-school support for families and carers experiencing disadvantage or hardship.

This year, due to the impact of COVID-19, the group is preparing for a marked increase in the number of people turning to them for assistance this December.

This presents a challenge, as the group's usual year-long fundraising effort - including distributing collection tins, opening stalls and hosting sausage sizzles and raffles - has been affected due to COVID-19 restrictions.

President Michelle Clifford said the small group of eight organisers were really relying on people's generosity to be able to assist the community in the same way it has for the past seven years.

"We really need those in the community that are able to, to donate money so that we can cover the costs of us not being able to have our raffles and barbecues," Ms Clifford said.

"This is to give to members of the local community, so though we understand that many people and businesses are experiencing their own financial hardships at the moment, we hope they can rally around this to empower our community."

Other news:

Despite the inability to host other fundraising activities, the annual Christmas in July fundraising dinner will still go ahead - though it will look a little different.

Normally a big sit-down dinner hosted at The Farmers Arms Hotel, this year attendees will pick up their Christmas dinner from the hotel prior to the event on the evening of July 22 and heat it up before sitting down for the virtual event live streamed to Youtube.

This will include the usual raffle and silent auction, in addition to live entertainment from local musician Sean Dixon.

The items being auctioned range from a package with a celebrant, time with a workplace lawyer, to locally-produced artworks, overnight stays and food and wine.

Hepburn Regional Community Cheer partners with many other organisations including Daylesford Community Op Shop, Rotary, The Farmers Arms in Daylesford, Variety and the Daylesford Foundation.

In recent years, the group has been able to auspice other initiatives such as a podcast about empowering women. It hopes to continue branching out to connect with other sectors of the community such as youth in the future.

Tickets to the Christmas in July fundraising event can be purchased through Trybooking: https://www.trybooking.com/book/event?eid=635003

Hepburn Regional Community Cheer

Bsb - 633 000

Acc # - 162925689