Support 'overwhelmingly appreciated' as Go Fund Me passes $100,000

Owner of Pomonal business, Barney's Bar and Bistro, Colin Macaffer started the Pomonal Bushfire Recover Go Fund Me page not long after evacuating himself.

Mr Macaffer said the support Pomonal has received is 'overwhelmingly appreciated'.

"Everyone, obviously, from close to us to far away, all feeling the care and the need to give us a bit of a hand ... that's certainly uplifting for our spirits," he said.

"It was started originally, because a lot of people contacted us because of Barney's Bar and Bistro and knowing that we're one of many leaders of the community, and I thought, rather than keep getting the I don't know, I thought, well, I've never started the GoFundMe."

Originally launched with a fundraising target of $10,000 the Go Fund Me had passed that 10 times over only a week later.

"Within an hour, I think it was up to seven or eight thousand dollars, which was magic. And I thought, wow," Mr Macaffer said. "Here we are at over 100,000, that sounds like a lot of money, and it is has been gratefully accepted into the fund."

There has been over 800 donors who have given as little as $5, while one generous donor pledged $5000 to those in need. Mr Macaffer said that the township has benefitted from coming together in the early stages of this recovery.

"As a community, it's hard to gauge everyone's feelings, I can talk to one person today and they're fine and the next day they have emotionally suffering," Mr Macaffer said.

"It's a daily basis or even an hourly basis with emotions going up and down. But the support the donations, the vouchers, the Ararat council, the Stawell council, Grampians health, the Salvation Army, the United Church, the list just keeps going on."

Mr Macaffer also said that in the wake of the natural disaster, the help Pomonal has received from emergency workers has added to feeling of community.

"They're a community upon themselves who now feel like we've made them part of our community with the appreciation that everyone's showing each individual," he said.

"Each and every one of those individuals who are helping us through forest management, CFA, and other authorities, we feel like they're part of this community."