Toy library may close

After excitedly joining the Coffs Harbour Toy Library last month, I have since found out that they look like they have to close because of lack of funds.

After speaking with one of the other toy library members I found out that for the past couple of years the committee have approached council for help with paying the rent and have applied for grants, but have gotten nowhere.  Even inviting each counsellor out to have a look at the toy library only resulted in two of them bothering to turn up.  What a shame that the council is so apathetic about a service that provides such a wonderful resource to Coffs Coast families.

In the month that I had the toys that I borrowed, Ellie has learned to walk.  She was just starting to take a few tentative steps, and I thought a few 'push along' toys would be good for her to gain her confidence.  This was the reason that I first signed up at the toy library.  It seemed silly and wasteful to buy a toy that would suit a developmental stage that she would only be in for such a short time.
On Friday we returned our first lot of toys and were able to borrow a whole lot more that now better suit her as she moves to a new developmental stage of walking independently.

Here is a letter that I have drafted and intend to send to Council.  I don't know if it will do any good, but the more people who speak up, hopefully they will start to take notice.  Families of Coffs Harbour definitely deserve a better deal.

How can the Coffs Harbour City Council sit back and allow the Coffs Coast community to lose the fantastic resource of the Toy Library?

The Toy Library has been running for 30 years and has served generations of Coffs Coast children.  It has enabled families to access a variety of quality toys at very low cost. By being able to borrow toys relevant to a child’s developmental stage of growth, the toy library ticks the boxes of being environmentally, socially, and economically responsible. Yet now, we are at risk of losing this service due a lack of funds.  The volunteer and membership base that runs and pays for the service can no longer meet its rising costs.

 

The Coffs Harbour Toy library attracts no outside funding.  It is financed through the levying of membership fees upon its members and volunteers.  Unfortunately, membership fees can barely cover rent let alone the purchase and repair of toys and general running costs.  The toy library now needs a commitment of funding from an outside source in order to ensure its survival. We in Coffs Harbour cannot afford to lose this wonderful resource.  For a relatively small investment council could reap huge dividends for the children of Coffs Harbour.  The library is already established, with a large base of toys that can be borrowed, and is staffed by volunteers. By meeting running costs and rent council could ensure the toy library’s continued service.

The toy library benefits the Coffs coast in three key ways:

Environmentally it is a winner. We often pay lip service to the mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, yet here the toy library is an embodiment of this principle. By allowing families to borrow toys that suit the current developmental stage of their children, they are:

Reducing the amount of consumable products they are purchasing, which the children then out grow and then are inevitably thrown away, ending up as landfill.  Has the council looked at just how much of their landfill is comprised of discarded plastic toys?

Reuse of the toys occurs for many more years than would be the case if they were purchased by individuals for individual use. The toys are cared for, stored correctly and repaired where necessary to ensure their longevity and their availability to countless numbers of borrowers.  The toys get to fulfil a long useful life that lasts longer than they would if used by just one or two children.

Recycle, families can donate quality toys to be used by the Toy library.  These toys then can enter the cycle of reuse through lending to members.

 

Socially and economically the toy library contributes huge benefits to Coffs Harbour families. Coffs Harbour is notably a low socio economic area.  What better way to help families that are struggling financially than to have a toy lending service?  If we didn’t already have a service like this, it would be something that council would need to consider setting up in order to help children from disadvantaged families. Council has a responsibility to provide services for all ages and to provide opportunities for disadvantaged families to access relevant quality services. The toy library is one such service, and it is important to all Coffs Coast families.  It represents the type of service that the council should be obliged to provide. Yet here we are not even asking for it to be entirely funded and run by council, but for council to just contribute a regular amount of ongoing funding to ensure the service’s continuance.

 

I urge the Coffs Harbour City Council to take a serious look at the issue of funding the Coffs Harbour Toy Library service.  The toy library represents great value for council’s money because it achieves the triple bottom line of environmental, social and economic accountability.  Coffs Coast, in particular, but the council, more broadly cannot afford to let this service fold.  A commitment to regular funding or a viable solution to finding a low rent facility needs to become a council priority.