COMMUNITIES across western NSW are being praised as an integral part of Australia's Biggest Morning Tea, showing that population size does not discriminate people coming together to raise funds for cancer research and support.

According to the Cancer Council, every day in NSW alone, 100 people are diagnosed with cancer, making the fundraiser an important annual event for the charitable organisation.

Yesterday (Thursday 26 May) was the official day to host a morning tea this year, however anyone can host one at any time in May or June.

The community of Collarenebri got in early this year, hosting a morning tea on Saturday 21 May. Local nurse Terry Williamson, who organised the event both last year and this year said she wanted to do something different this year.

"This year, I extended the morning tea by introducing a raffle, 100 club and teapot throwing in the lead up, just to provide a bit of variety other than the traditional morning tea," Ms Williamson said.

"So on the Thursday prior, two ambos and I walked around town with a trolly then held the teapot throw on the Friday night at the pub before the actual morning tea on Saturday at the local Lions Park."

All proceeds from the raffle and half the proceeds from the 100 club were then combined with donations given before, on and after the day.

Ms Williamson said the latest tally was around $2220 with another $55 still to be transferred through to the cancer council.

ABOVE: Despite the size of the local population, the Collarenebri morning tea was visited by locals and travellers alike. Image supplied.

"We only raised about $800 last year so my target was about $1000 this year, so I was quite pleasantly surprised by how much support we had," she said.

"The turnout was great. Locals came as well as travellers and truck drivers. It was also voting day, so quite a few people from farms had come into town."

"We also had a lot of support from community members, mainly women, who provided a lot of the food for the morning tea."

Ms Williamson was particularly proud of the fact they had done so well considering the size of the local population and the fact they worked side-by-side with another cancer fundraiser.

Community Lead for Cancer Council Western NSW Ricky Puata said smaller communities in the western region, which covers over 70 per cent of the state, are usually big contributors to the annual fundraiser.

"Some of the smaller communities have some of the biggest 'Biggest Morning Teas' in the entire state," Mr Puata said.

"Generally, they will have big personalities in town who are really good at driving it and get the community buzzing about it. We also see a lot of people willing to give, whether it's a donation or their time in the lead up."

ABOVE: Collarenebri girls Louise and Molly were among the collection of locals who put their support behind the morning tea. Image supplied.

According to Mr Puata, the western NSW region raised around $340,000 last year across 891 hosts. He said they would be aiming for a similar amount this year.

"It's quite early, but we're very on track to get to that again, which is great given what communities have been going through in the last couple of years," he said.

"The morning tea is a rally valuable campaign for us because it not only raises the funds we really need, but also gives people a proper connection to the cancer council which makes them want to get more involved with what we do."

As for Ms Williamson, she said she was happy to put on a solid event for the Collarenebri community.

"Because of COVID, there hasn't been a lot of social intervention in town. There were also three deaths here in two weeks, so it was a great way to give community a boost and let them know we're there to support them," she said.