Dedicated charity gets a helping hand to give the gift of hope this Christmas

Last month, A Current Affair brought you the story of Helping Hands Mission in Melbourne's North West, where they feed more than 3000 families every month.

Thanks to the program's viewers, more than $100,000 has been donated to help find Helping Hands a new home. 

The story hit home for many everyday Aussies, like IGA Cremorne store owner Aba Elyas.

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Each day he sees the impact from the soaring cost of living, but said the holiday season can be particularly hard.

"It is very, very tough for people, we have definitely noticed that people are shopping a lot more wisely and essentially just for the staples," Elyas said.

After immigrating to Australia with his family with next to no money in their pockets, Aba has built the business from the ground up, working day and night and said now it is time to give back.

So when he heard about Helping Hands Mission, he knew he had to get onboard - donating 25 food hampers each worth $150 for families to enjoy this festive season.

"Whatever we can do to support our customers and our and our locals, we do it," he said.

"Whether it's donating to charities, giving out free items, which we do plenty of the time, we do whatever we can."

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Helping Hands chief executive Melanie Gill said the hampers will make all the difference for the charity's customers this Christmas.

"To get a phone call with the offer of hampers from IGA that just makes our day you know, we're stretched to be able to give people the basics," she said.

"And yeah, there's a few Christmas treats but a whole hamper, that that's an amazing privilege for us to be able to pass that on to our clients, because we know what a difference it's going to make."

She said Christmas time adds weight to existing cost of living pressures.

"We see it every year. You know, everything is expensive," she said.

"And then there's the need to buy toys and put on a special lunch or dinner and try and make it a special time for your family. And all of that costs money. 

"So when when there isn't money, then it's a really tough time."

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In addition to Donna's daily meals and the pantry offerings, the charity also runs a Christmas Cave program where families can come and choose gifts for their loved ones at no cost.

"We set it up a little bit like a toy shop because we think that the ability to choose is really important, especially at this time of year," Gill said.

"You know, it's no use giving your child a cricket bat, if what he really wants is a Lego set. 

"And so for parents to be able to come in and pick the toy that they know their child's hoping Santa is going to bring, that's really special."

Watch the full video above.