The money will be distributed to four local charities: the Benevolent Society, City Mission, the Salvation Army, and St Vincent de Paul.

St Vincent de Paul membership and community services manager Melissa White said the new year was a tough time for many families, as they struggled to squeeze school supplies and fees for the upcoming year into their budgets.

"Our biggest need is emergency relief, and there is an ongoing need for that," she said.

"Particularly in the next month with people going back to school, that always adds pressure to families.

"They need to meet basic school needs: new lunchboxes, new bags, new uniforms - kids are constantly growing - as well as the cost of living every day.

"Things like that most of us do take for granted, but it's a challenging time for many families."

Salvation Army social operations manager Anita Reeve said the money went to the service's core needs, so that they could focus on additional programs.

They are seeking funding for a Street to Home specialist homelessness worker, which Ms Reeve said had been an effective model in providing targeted support to individual homeless people.

She said as well as financial donations, services always welcomed volunteers or donations of food, items, and particularly hygiene and grooming products, and encouraged the public to get in touch if they thought they could help.