nemedia.com.au
north east regional extra | November 27 - December 3, 2024
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November 27 - December 3, 2024
A sustainable way to play ◆ GOOD FUN: Some of the passionate volunteers with youngsters - president Amy Desmond (left), Felicity Kennedy with twins four-year-old twins Grace and Genevieve, little ‘driver’ three-yearold Cleo Desmond, five-year-old Arthur Desmond with his dad Boris (back left), Jemma Stanwell with one-yearold son Oscar and Anja Skroblin at the Beechworth Toy Library. PHOTO: Coral Cooksley
The Beechworth Toy Library also aims to expand their toy collection to embrace a wider spectrum of ages, from sensory toys to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) kits. The library wants their shelves to be brimming with possibilities with its mission to cater to every child’s developmental stage from babies and toddlers to tweens. For Amy the libraries provide a variety of toys at a very low cost throughout the year for families, particularly in the current financial
climate where things can be quite expensive. “Youngsters progress through toys quickly and can lose interest and there’s a need for toys to last for a long time and not be thrown away,” she said. With recent funding grants over the last two years from different organisations and a bigger focus on expansion, the local toy library has been in the position to buy sturdier and long-lasting toys instead of single use breakable plastic ones contributing to a reduction in landfill.
COMMUNITY connection, affordability as well as sustainability in reducing waste are some of the key benefits of belonging to a toy library with close to 400 of them around Australia. For Beechworth Toy Library’s president Amy Desmond, joining the local toy library in town was a great way to help connect to the community when the resident with her family moved to the North East two years ago. “It was the first way that we were able to meet other families within the community and is certainly a way for parents and carers to connect with each other,” she said.
Other key features of toy libraries run by volunteers include sturdy toys designed to support youngster’s skill development and imagination covering all growth and developmental stages. “Our toy library emphasises the value of play and contributes to children’s education,” Amy said.
YOUR HEALTH
VET CORNER
TOOL TALK
GONE FISHING
with TERESA
with ALEX
with MICK
with ROB
By CORAL COOKSLEY
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