Until this week, I'm sure many parents could have attested to the same being true for kids and their Ooshies collections.

On Tuesday evening, Nambucca RSL cafe staffmember and former St Patrick's student, Makayla Smith, lugged in two bulging bags holding a bounty of the Woolworths collectibles - the result of a two-day collection appeal at the Macksville school as a means to raise funds for farmers in need.

Makayla and her mum, Skye (a staffmember at St Pat's), brought the idea to the school and they agreed to participate.

But when teacher Annelise Quinn posted on the St Pat's social media page last Wednesday about the drive she had no idea what the reaction would be.

"The response was just remarkable," she said. "Some students went further than just donating their extras and donated their entire collections.

She said the Nambucca Heads RSL's 'Doing It For Our Farmers' drive - the third one since this drought started to bear down - spoke to the hearts of many of the school's children who come from farming families.

"They could relate even though we're not in as dire a state here. And they responded to a need. We were very proud," she said.

Nambucca Heads RSL Club CEO Wendy Mills said while they didn't count the Ooshies when they came in, she estimated there'd be well over a thousand...and there's more being donated daily.

"It was an amazing effort by the school," she said.

No word, however, if any of them are the rare and highly-prized 'furry Simba' variety.

Now, say what you want about the plastic figurines - and believe me, I've given my two cents-worth to anyone who'd listen - but this drive is nothing but a stroke of genius.

The Ooshies are currently being sold for $2 each or 3 for $5 from the RSL, and Ooshie orchestrator Toni Mansfield has also set up an auction online for a complete set. Full 24-piece sets are going for over $100 on ebay. We could be seeing a windfall of a couple of grand here.

The money raised from the sales will be translated into water and hay bales which will then be driven over the ranges in December.

Last year in August, a convoy laden with 35 pallets worth of groceries, 2000L of molasses, over 50 round bales of hay, five pallets of grain, and three pallets of water donated from our Valley headed to Tamworth where it was distributed to farmers further west doing it tough in the drought.

Then in November they did it all over again, this time with 150 bales of hay and a remarkable array of donated generosity from our Valley and neighbouring areas.

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This year they're planning to make an even bigger impact, if they can.

"People don't seem to realise that the drought's actually gotten worse," Wendy said. "These poor people are suffering even more than they were last year."

Wendy Mills and her team at the Nambucca Heads RSL who organised the drives have been nominated as finalists for this year's Clubs NSW Awards in the categories of 'Heart of the Community' and 'Clubs in Collaboration'.

"You don't do it for the award, but it means a lot. This will be an award to recognise the efforts of the whole community," Wendy said.

While the Club might soon be at Ooshie capacity, they are freely accepting donations of non-perishable groceries and other items in the foyer.

And there are plenty more exciting fundraising events planned. Who knows, the Valley might soon get to welcome the soulful notes of Nollsy or the king of horses, Daryl Braithwaite.

Keep your eyes peeled and ears tuned.

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