The latest from Walthamstow Toy Library

May Fair
A huge thank you to everybody who came to the May Fair: thanks to you, and our army of volunteers, we raised more than £1,300!
 
Your support is very gratefully received – we rely on fundraising activities like this to keep the centre open, and on volunteers to make the events possible.
 
Huge thanks too to our sponsors, East London Sausage Company (which donated the, er, sausages for the barbeque), the Village Bakery (the bread), and Homebase and Petals in Bloom (plants). Plus all those who donated to the raffle and the tombola.
 
More dates for your diary

Outdoor play open day
Saturday 23 July, 10.30 – 1pm.
Our summer open day will be all about  outdoor play, with a sand pit for the kids to climb in, whacky water play (so bring spare clothes!), creating a recycled music station, and growing mini vegetable gardens. For the babies, we’ll be laying on heuristic play and treasure baskets (play with natural materials). And for the grown ups we’ll be running our famous cake stall!

Our February open day was a great success, despite the dreadful weather, with mosaics of recycled lids, two wildlife ponds from old tyres and dens made of reclaimed materials. Said one happy punter: “It was very good. Please try again when the weather’s better!” Surely late July will be OK… 

Toddle waddle
Saturday 17 September
Our ‘famous’ sponsored walk for families with little kids is always great fun, and what’s more raises lots of money! This year the route will be between Coppermill Lane and Springfield Park, across the marsh. Remember your fancy dress – adults too, if you feel like it – bring a picnic, and take buckets and spades to play in the park’s sand pit.
 
Details of timings, and how to raise sponsorship, to follow. Or keep an eye on the website and the noticeboard in the toy library.
 
Can you help?
Did you know the toy library receives no regular funding from either local or central government? So we really need the support of our members to help keep the centre running.
 
What can you do?

  • Fundraising events provide vital income. And the more people who help out, the better the event, and the more money raised! Could you help run a stall? Make a cake? Donate to the raffle? If you’d like to offer your assistance, contact the committee on committee@walthamstowtoylibrary.org or talk to a member of staff.
  • Bring any spare fruit you have to a session to give out at snack time. At the moment, to cut costs, the Monday and Friday play sessions are going without!
  • Shop online using Easy Fundraising, which will make a donation to the Toy Library for every purchase at no extra charge to you. Simply go to Easy Fundraising's website, register, select Walthamstow Toy Library and Play Centre as your choice of charity, and start shopping. All the usual online retailers, like  – like Amazon, John Lewis and the big supermarkets – can be accessed via the website.