THE joy was unleased for the community’s students last Thursday and Friday just before they return to school, as local Donna Vickers and her charity distributed an array of offerings for families in need.

Replicating the success of last year's inaugural event, Unleash the Joy donated items collected from the community that were distributed at the CWA Hall last week.

Ms Vickers inspiration to start her initiative proved to be a huge success and many local families were assisted with kind donations that aided her dream.

The not-for-profit charity also received a host of donations this year from local businesses including Woolworths, Big W, 3NE, La Bella Rocca, Wangaratta Central Dentist and CWA.

Ms Vickers was exceedingly happy with the response from the community and labelled the event as heartwarming.

“I am so happy with the response we have had from the community, seeing everyone come together for such a great cause makes all the efforts worthwhile,” Ms Vickers said.

“We have had a fantastic response from the community who are so grateful for what we do in providing everything parents need to get their children back to school.

“There were single mums, single dads, grandparents who had children in their care, kids that were doing home school and families that were really struggling… there is a big need for it here.

“Single mums and dads, other family members including grandparents with grandchildren in care, just to name a few were all assisted with various school items.

“To see the joy on everyone’s faces brought happy tears to my eyes.

“We had a couple of late donations from Melbourne Towing who donated $500 and Sign Pro, which reflects the overall kind generosity to help such an important cause.

“This is a great thing we are doing, which is rewarding to warm the hearts of those in need.

“I have been helping families in Wangaratta for the last 25 years and I absolutely love what I do."

Ms Vickers said her aim for next year is to find a permanent location where they can have a familiar place where families can come along.

“We are open to taking kind donations for any winter school clothing to assist families in need for when the cooler months arrive,” she said.