Mrs Waihape said the fundraiser exceeded expectations and surpassed their goal of $10,000.

"It was supposed to be held at The Rex but the whole event was virtual due to COVID-19 restrictions," she said.

"Local musician Andrew Parsons performed live online and he was fantastic.

"Through the last lockdown he was doing live music performances via Facebook and that's where the idea came from.

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"It went above our expectations which is amazing and it is all thanks to the community support that got behind it."

Mrs Waihape's sister, Jackie Ruddle, has two sons with severe allergies and anaphylaxis. Three-year-old Sage and 11-month-old Kohen are both allergic to wheat, eggs, dairy and nuts.

"My sister was the inspiration for the whole fundraiser ... severe allergies present many day-to-day challenges," she said.

"We wanted her to know that there are positive things happening in the world and help make peoples lives easier with allergies."

Mrs Waihape said organising the virtual event was challenging.

"We started organising it eight weeks ago, planning and setting goals, and that was before the restrictions had kicked in," she said.

"As the new lockdown came in, we had to postpone that event but we decided to still go forth with the set date and go ahead with the raffle and auction.

"The community took the stress away from us by being so generous, which gave us confidence."

The money raised will go towards the Allergies and Immunology Foundation of Australasia which supports researchers working on the complexities of the human immune system.

"If you raise $10,000 you get to be more specific about where that money goes and we nominated food allergies because of my nephews," Mrs Waihape said.

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"People with severe food allergies get bad anxiety going out to places. Even home is scary because there are still so many of their allergens in the house.

"We wanted to spread awareness and educate people about the seriousness of food allergies and how they can make someone's life a bit safer, if they have friends or family members with allergies."

Do you have a story to share? Get in touch - taylor.padfield@austcommunitymedia.com.au

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