In the hours since The Courier’s story about 36-year-old mother of two, Sarah Martin, the community has dug deep and donated to a gofundme page set up to help the Alfredton family.

Just before The Courier went to press Thursday night, the gofundme page had just over $13,000. Now, that figure has skyrocketed to more than $20,000.

Many of the donations have come from complete strangers, including those in other states and even overseas.

The social media page was set up by Ms Martin’s close friends and neighbours at an Alfredton court, Kelly Kosloff and Cheree Cosgriff last Saturday night.

The decision to establish the page came soon after Ms Martin was delivered the news a tumour found in her neck about a month ago had spread to her brain.

She will undergo invasive brain surgery at the Epworth Hospital in Melbourne within the next few weeks.

However her recovery process in hospital could be up to four months, followed by extensive rehabilitation.

Money raised by the gofundme page will mean her husband Ashley and two young sons, Jake, 5, and Levi, 3, can be regularly close to her in Melbourne and her mounting medical bills can be paid.

The Martins’ neighbours have also shown the family support by mowing lawns and cooking meals in recent weeks.

“The support from my beautiful neighbours brings me to tears. But when my children ask why I’m crying, I tell them they are happy tears, not sad ones,” Ms Martin told The Courier earlier this week.

Anyone wanting to donate to the page for Ms Martin and her family can go to https://www.gofundme.com/258g48c

A cash drop-off point for the fundraising effort has been arranged at the airport shuttlebus desk at the Ballarat Railway Station.

Money can be left at the desk between 9am and 5pm weekdays and 9am to noon Saturdays.