For those living on the poverty line and the unemployed, winter in Canberra can be a particularly difficult time of the year.
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For some families, the elderly or those doing it tough, a large gas or electricity bill could leave them unable to put food on the table, according to Lynne Harwood from not-for-profit organisation Communities@Work.
"Obviously it's the time of the year when there is so much expenditure to keep warm," she said.
The organisation offers a community pantry service for people to stock up on food supplies and demand for the service tends to rise in winter, Ms Harwood said.
Communities@Work, with the support of Allhomes, which is owned by Fairfax, is collecting donations to help disadvantaged Canberrans through its Winter Warm-Up Appeal.
The community is being called on to donate blankets, sleeping bags, jumpers, scarves, beanies and gloves.
Donations of special occasion and business clothing are also needed and will go towards a program run by Communities@Work which helps people back on the path to employment.
Ms Harwood said clothing played an important role in ensuring people could gain the confidence needed to enter the workplace.
"We know one of the greatest things we can give to people is to help them build their own self-esteem and confidence," she said.
"The idea of the program is to ultimately try and get people back into the workplace but that's often quite a long process so the first thing we do is obviously get people ready to go to interviews and so people dressing smart is a part of it.
"There is also help with CVs, interview techniques and even applying for jobs if that is the stage they are at."
Additional support and clothing is also provided if they are successful at finding a job for the first few weeks.
Communities at Work receives no government funding and relies on sponsorship from corporate partners.
On Friday, two vehicles from Communities@Work and Allhomes will take to the streets to collect donations from participating businesses for the winter appeal.
Donations can be dropped off at any of the registered collection points before Friday. Registered business include Allhomes Kingston and The Canberra Times and a number of real estate businesses across Canberra.
For more information or to find the registered collection point nearest to you, visit allhomes.com.au/ah/winterwarmupappeal.
