By Shelby Brooks
The Pakenham and District Toy Library has been resurrected by new volunteers, after Covid-19 forced its closure in 2020.
Pakenham mums Liz Roberts, Kimberley Lardner and Dominique Gohr have put their hands up to reopen the service, after recognising its importance for local families.
“It was sad to see such a good service in the shire just sitting here, going to waste,” Kimberley said.
“No one wanted to take it on.”
Toy libraries offer toy borrow services to families at a low cost, helping families to save money on buying new toys and reduce toy waste to landfill.
It also provides social support for parents and children.
“Economic pressures at the moment are considerable at the moment,” Liz said.
“Basically, there’s the demographic for it. In this corner of Pakenham, 20 per cent of people are aged under 9 so it makes sense to offer a service like that.”
According to studies, a child has an average interest in a new toy for only 36 days, Liz said.
“There is nothing worse as a mum to buy a toy and your child plays with it for only three minutes,” Dominique said.
The environmental impact of toy waste are also huge on the environment, Liz said.
“The scarier thing is Australia sends 51 per cent of toys to landfill within 12 months of purchase,” she said.
Pakenham and District Toy Library has a long history in the area – it was first established by a volunteer committee in 1988.
It used to run out of a small shed on PB Ronald Reserve until, in 2013, Cardinia Shire Council gave it a new home at Hollins Children Centre in Pakenham.
Liz, Kimberley and Dominique were members of the toy library before it had to shut, so decided to form a new committee with the aim to reopen at the end of May this year.
“Covid-19 was a pretty difficult time. We know that there are people out there who were members before and might even have toys they weren’t able to return during lockdowns,” Liz said.
Most toys are purchased through fundraising, membership fees and grants.
The Pakenham and District Toy Library, which is supported by Toy Libraries Australia, is not currently looking for donations.
Keep up to date with the reopening via Pakenham and District Toy Library on Facebook.
