Donations and Volunteering

We are always in need of donations!

Toys, books and cuddly toys in a good and clean condition are welcomed. 

We are a registered charity and heavily reliant on fundraising, grants and donations to keep our Toy Library service running.  This is becoming increasingly challenging in the current financial climate. 

If you feel able to make a cash donation then it would be hugely appreciated and you can do this by visiting: https://localgiving.org/charity/mgrtoylibrary/

You can donate a percentage of any sales you make on ebay - just pick Merry Go Round Toy Library as your favourite charity when you are ready to sell something.  More details on how to do this at: https://pages.ebay.co.uk/ebayforcharity/sell.html

You can also help by using easyfundraising each time you buy or search for something online and it won't cost you a penny! Just visit http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk to register and choose Merry Go Round Toy Library as your charity, then shop from over 2000 well known retailers.

Appeal to Local Businesses

We need more funders for both the current financial year and next year.  If you would like to support the toy libraries, especially towards core funding, please contact us by emailing my.mgrtoylibrary.org


Volunteering

If you would like to learn more about volunteering or becoming a committee member for the toy library please email: coordinator@mgrtoylibrary.org

Volunteers and Committee Members

Our volunteers and committee members come from a wide range of backgrounds, with different skills and abilities, many with that most important experience of being a parent. We are always on the lookout for new volunteers for both toy libraries, whether to work with the children and families directly or to assist with committee work and fundraising activities.

Volunteers

Everyone who helps our charity in a non-paid capacity is counted as a volunteer, including committee members. Apart from being on the committee, there are lots of other ways volunteers can support us including helping at fundraising events, toy library sessions or with publicity.

Volunteers use their specific skills as and when they feel they can – this can include making cakes for cake stalls, mending toys, taking leaflets and posters to toddler groups, helping at car boot sales, writing articles for the newsletter, updating toy databases, taking photos, publicity etc.

Tasks for volunteers helping in the toy libraries include:

  • helping to set up
  • checking toys which are returned
  • cleaning toys
  • helping keep tidy during the session
  • welcoming customers
  • occasional cataloguing etc

Anyone who has an interest in supporting our charity and helping it become sustainable can help by getting involved with fund raising activities and ideas or with promotional events to raise our profile in the local community. We hope to hold one or two major fundraising events per year plus other smaller events.You can choose whether to work as part of a group or you might want to do something as an individual or family, or you could just make a donation. We welcome other organisations such as local companies to help support our toy libraries.

Committee members

Committee members are also Trustees of the charity and as such have responsibility for ensuring the toy libraries are run in accordance with the law and our Constitution. Committee members:

  • manage the staff, promoting good working practice and conditions
  • write and update policies
  • make decisions about the running of the toy libraries
  • make a commitment to attend meetings (approx every 2 months with refreshments) including the AGM and our summer and winter socials
  • use their skills to support the toy library – some are officers eg Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer or Secretary, each of which has its own responsibilities
  • help with publicity
  • link in with everything else going on in the project eg fundraising

To ensure that vulnerable children are protected, we carry out a vetting procedure for any volunteers working directly with children or families and also for committee members. This involves security applying for a DBS, and character references.

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