KILMORE Toy Library will reopen its doors on Saturday after what was a long wait for community connections and relationships the group had hoped to build in 2020.
The pandemic may have put a temporary stop to the library’s plans, but thanks to a grant by the Bendigo Bank’s Kilmore Community Branch, the group was able to rebrand the toy library from what was an ‘outdated’ look.
Kilmore Toy Library secretary Louise Jarvie said organising the library’s opening times was made difficult by the pandemic.
“We got funding in 2019, so it was a long time ago, and we sort of felt bad that we hadn’t done anything yet. We were a bit slow getting going because we are all volunteers,” she said.
“Two thousand dollars came from Bendigo Bank to allow us to rebrand, because we had a very scary clown logo that was more than 20 years old.
“We changed our logo and bought new promotional stuff, and we had a stall at the show with lots of Bendigo Bank money boxes.”
Ms Jarvie said it had been a slow reopening process, but the group was excited to welcome new families on Saturday.
“We reopened in November with click and collect. Normally people could’ve come in and the toys were all out, people would come in with their kids and it was quite busy.
“We’re giving our current members a year’s free membership, and we’re giving half-price memberships for new members.”
While the library will reopen, operations will not return to what was once normal for the group, as president Louise Dwyer said restrictions were still in place for COVID-19.
“The issue with being open for browsing is there are people touching things. Toy Libraries Australia worked closely with DHHS to develop the guidelines for cleaning and the dos and don’ts, it was very well organised,” Ms Dwyer said.
“We want to engage with the community again and get memberships going again – get that year in of new mums that we’ve missed.”
Bendigo Bank Kilmore relationships consultant Casey Smith said the community bank was happy to help out with the rebranding of Kilmore Toy Library.
“We’re very excited to see it out and about now in the community, and the local kids benefit,” she said.
“We’re glad to see the community coming back together, and you can see [the children] are so excited to see each other and get back to normality.”
Kilmore Toy Library will open on Saturday from 10am until 11.30am for click and collect, and at the same times on Thursdays following.
For more information about Kilmore Toy Library or membership prices, contact Louise Jarvie via kilmoretoylibrary@hotmail.com, via Facebook at Kilmore Toy Library, or visit the Kilmore Toy Library website.
