Hiring out bouncy castles is proving effective way to keep toy libraries afloat
Hiring out bouncy castles is proving effective way to keep toy libraries afloat financially. Maungaraki Toy Library coordinator Melanie Eade says a small “baby boom” in the area is making the toy library more popular than ever. “We have used our funds this Christmas for new baby toys because we are experiencing a baby boom in Maungaraki of late,” says Mrs Eade. The toy library has secured an ideal number of end-of-the-year grants, which has allowed them to purchase a bouncy castle. “It has been a pretty good finish to a year that has gone really well; we have just brought our own bouncy castle for members to hire out for children’s parties. “It’s an added incentive for people to become members,” she says. Buoying their efforts to fundraise for costs and the bouncy castle was a successful Christmas raffle supported by Playdays and Poppies Bookshop. Maungaraki Toy Library has 70 members and the ride-on Ferrari that Maungaraki Auto Services gifted them is a popular toy. Johnsonville Toy Library coordinator Donna says next year they will swing into fundraising action and try to purchase a bouncy castle. “The big toys are popular, we want to get a bouncy castle members can hire for $50, and it has proved a real success in Ngaio and Khandallah. “We are setting up a new website to make the service more user friendly,” says Donna. 2009 was tough financially, with only three of their normal 15 local business sponsors coming to the table. Membership at the library is up with over 120 people signed-on. Toys such as slides, ride-on bikes and trampolines are popular. Tawa Toy Library coordinator Naomi Martin says membership is on a high after creating a Lego Car for the local Christmas Parade. “The float just looked amazing, Calvin Thiele did all the work and put hours into making the real-life Lego Car,” she says. Miniature roller-coasters are a popular toy as well as Thomas the Tank engine and a trampoline.
