The Love Grace Handbag Appeal was named after Grace Millane, the British tourist who was murdered by her Tinder date in Auckland in 2018.
Love Grace Handbag Appeal Central Otago co-ordinator Philippa Bain said the appeal ran from February 14 to March 8 and had a donation target of 100 bags.
A final count showed that more than 120 bags had been donated, smashing the record of 91 set last year.
Mrs Bain said she was very happy and grateful for the amazing support from the community.
"We’ve had a fantastic contribution from the community, which is really appreciated."
The bags were filled with practical items like a toothbrush, toothpaste, shower gel, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner.
People were welcome to give extras like hand gel, scarves and jewellery as well.
This year there were bags with cut-out love hearts with words of encouragement written in English and te reo, she said.
"That was really cool and that was, like, just a nice little touch and popped into the bags and there were some other beautiful cards of, you know, words of encouragement of people."
One bag contained a notebook and the person had typed out a story about their life experience as well as the meaning of the bag they donated.
"There was a really special story behind one of the handbags," she said.
Now the bags have been collected, Mrs Bain said a Love Grace card would be tied to every bag and would tell the story of Grace and how the appeal started.
The bags would then be ready to go out to the women’s refuges.
Mrs Bain said the bags would go to two organisations, one in Alexandra which supports the wider Central Otago area, the other in Dunedin.
"It’s really good to hear that some of them are staying in the regions that they’ve been donated by, which is really cool."
Mrs Bain wanted to give a massive thank you to those in Central Otago who gave bags as a part of the appeal.
"It’s been an absolutely fantastic turnout, and it’s going to make a real meaningful difference to people’s lives to have this little bit of love donated to them, or this little bit of love given to them when they’re going through a horrible time," she said.
