Through bushfires and then a pandemic, Canberra's Karinya House feared they wouldn't fundraise enough in 2020 to continue supporting women and children through various crises, but the charity has been astounded by community support.
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"We were very worried after the bushfires, because people really supported the bushfires, which we can understand, but we thought that would impact donor revenue quite a lot," business manager Jo Saccasan said.
"When COVID came along, we were even more worried because people are losing their jobs and it's pretty hard going for everybody."
Karinya House, which raises 40 per cent of its budget, has bucked a trend of charities struggling through coronavirus.
The organisation met its $700,000 fundraising goal last financial year despite its major fundraiser in May, a gala dinner, becoming a virtual affair.
The online appeal raised as much as the event had the year prior, Ms Saccasan revealed.
Regular donors had to pull their donations after losing employment or struggling financially, but Ms Saccasan said the charity had been blown away by Canberra's generosity as its services became even more critical through lockdown.
"The pandemic has certainly added a layer of complexity to all the [women]," she said.
"We've had a number of women who were past clients of Karinya House who have contacted us during the period because they've been under added stress, so they just needed a bit of additional support."
Karinya House has been at capacity throughout coronavirus, with 11 women in the residence at one time and another 30 assisted in the community.
"It was very hard to manage shared accommodation in the more critical period of the pandemic ... it meant the women who were in residence at Karinya had to have a lot more restricted movement," Ms Saccasan said.
"We've got babies on site who are not vaccinated, they're less than six weeks old. We've got women who are pregnant, so they are vulnerable.
"The restrictions we had to put in place for the residents and staff were stronger than would have applied to the general community."
The annual Mercy Walk for Women attracts participants from Canberra and surrounds to walk 23 kilometres from Boorowa to Galong in September.
Scores would have gathered today to traipse the canola fields and enjoy morning tea, but like everything else, it has been reimagined for a coronavirus-world.
Teams or individuals could instead register to walk 23km throughout September with their sign-up fee going to support Karinya House.
So far, 90 people have taken part, including the team from the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.
Meredythe Crane said it was the first year the work colleagues had participated.
They completed the kilometres individually, with a few group walks planned.
"Last year the event raised $17,000 which was the biggest result we've had and biggest number of walkers," Ms Saccasan said.
She was astounded by the take-up in 2020 and remained hopeful this year's haul, currently sitting at $8500, could reach a similar height by the end of the month.
"I am a bit beguiled that we're up to that many registrations," Ms Saccasan explained.
"In some ways it's a little bit more accessible ... it's really encouraging people across Canberra taking up the opportunity."