They say the best part of living in a smaller town is seeing the community come together. For Allie Ritchie and Becky Warnke, this couldn't have been more true.

The runners of the "Bella Brave's Auction" are the first to acknowledge the community support that has allowed them to raise a staggering $12,000 (and counting) for a very special cause. Bella Thomson, a three year old girl from Swift Current, has been in and out of hospitals over 632 days of her life. Due to the nature of Bella's condition, her parents, Kyla and Lyle, have been transporting Bella to and from the Calgary Children's Hospital since her birth, a cost covered by fundraising and community support.

Since the story first came out in 2014, the southwest has rallied together to support Bella over various fundraisers. The latest, an auction run by Warnke and Ritchie, will close Sunday.

"We have been following the Thomson's story for a long time, and we and just felt really strongly that we wanted to help them out in whatever way we could, so we came up with the auction idea, and support has just been overwhelming," Warnke said. "The community of Swift Current has really stepped up and showed the Thomson's a lot of love."

Kyla Thomson, Bella's mother, was a resource teacher at Swift Current's Central School before Bella's birth. With the medical complications that Bella has undergone since then, she has been unable to return to work. Between caring for Bella, she runs a blog called "Isabella's Mustard Seed" to keep friends and family up to date on Bella's progress.

"It has been 50 days that Bella has not been allowed to eat," she wrote on March 16. "Her bowels are still healing from the 6 hour surgery on the 26th of Jan. So the days starts with her request for her first sip of clear fluids (juice) and she gets a max of 200 ml a day (just under a juice box).

"Bella currently has 43 specialists/doctors/fellows/residents on her caseload right now... Currently, Bella gets four hours a day off and unhooked from her IV lines. So in those four hours we seize the day! And we get out of the hospital," she writes.

The auction's initial goal was to raise $5000 to assist the transportation of Bella to and from Calgary and for other incurred debt. So far, Ritchie says, $12,000 has been raised, with more pouring in.

"The thing that's so amazing is how easy it's been," Ritchie said. "Yeah, we've put time in it, but there's no arm twisting involved. as soon as people know who Bella is and what we're doing, they're trying to help however they can. Even now, people are messaging us (trying to add more items)."

Items include a signed jersey from Ottawa Senators player and southwest native Zach Smith, custom furniture by Hers by Him, donated time by artist Mike Kaye, PBR tickets from the Swift Current Broncos and a package from Cypress Motors. A previous GoFundMe was set up for the family in 2014. Although a total of $14,900 was raised, Ritchie says more is always needed to support the girl who has touched so many hearts.

"As you can imagine, all those funds are long gone, used for all the monthly trips to Calgary even when Bella was home," Ritchie said. "We have had such a great response from businesses wanting to donate since then. Once they know who Bella is and what she's accomplished, then everybody jumps on board."

The projeted time frame for Bella to be back in the southwest is early April, but there's a long to-do list that has to get done before she can come home. Once she is home, there's still a long road of stuff she needs, which is why the auction is taking place now.

"She will still have many more trips to Calgary, monthly or weekly," Warnke added.

For more information about the auction, go here. It closes tomorrow at 9 p.m.

"We just want to give out a ginormous thank you, on behalf of Lyle and Kyla and Bella, as well," Ritchie said. "Thank you from us for the amazing support. This has gone so much bigger than we could ever imagine, and we are so grateful... we got to be a part of something so awesome for this family.:"