When Hervey Bay City Rotary Club member Richard Watt and his wife Gwen were watching the bushfire disaster unfold, they desperately wanted to help the affected communities.

They started a campaign, 'Hervey Bay adopting fire affected families' to raise funds, initially to provide some immediate relief.

Out of the blue, a local resident and past member of the Rotary Club of Goondiwindi, Don Faulkner, offered his caravan.

"It's been sitting in my shed for the last few years, I am sure someone else could make better use of it," he said.

Hearing about the plight of the small town of Lake Conjola in NSW where 89 homes had been lost and up to another 50 were considered uninhabitable, it was decided that this would be an ideal location for the caravan.

"Some residents are living in tents and are desperate for some accommodation," said Richard. "We just need to get it down there."

Richards' wife Gwen had the answer. With the help of Rotary Clubs along the route, seven clubs would take the caravan over nine legs.

Locally, members of the Rotary Club of Taree North were keen to assist and completed the leg from Taree to Newcastle.

The caravan will be used as temporary accommodation and will be passed on to other families as needed. The caravan will be located free of charge in a local caravan park.

"The offer of a permanent gift, not only for immediate support, but for ongoing families suffering terrible hardship, would hopefully bring some form of normality to their lives," the president of the Milton-Ulludulla Rotary Club said,

For further information on Caravan of Hope go to the Rotary's Caravan of Hope Facebook page.

The Caravan of Hope Project demonstrates just one of the ways Rotarians assist in local communities.

Rotary Clubs in the Manning are helping to assist local residents affected by the bush fires by providing financial assistance, through the Rotary MidCoast Bushfire Appeal. You can donate here.