Preparations under way in Whanganui for Toy Library Awareness Week

Toy cars like these Little Tikes Coupes keep toddlers occupied for hours. Photo / Supplied

The Whanganui Toy Library has been a long-standing source of joy for many children and whānau over the decades.

The library was established in the 1980s and is one of the oldest in the country.

Toy libraries were established to bring happiness to young children and take stress off families - who are able, through the libraries, to register as members and borrow toys rather than spending hundreds of dollars on new ones.

More than 1000 toys are available to borrow to keep tamariki [children] occupied.

One of the Whanganui Toy Library committee members' children enjoying the play hospital at the library. Photo / Supplied

“We service 83 families at the moment from around the region, including some rurally,” library treasurer and interim chairperson Jess Shaw said.

“The library is run on a voluntary basis, we’re not like a regular book library,” Shaw said. “We love what we do.”

This toy nurse puzzle is one of the oldest in the Whanganui Toy Library inventory, dating back to 1985. Photo / Supplied

Toy Library Awareness Week takes place from March 5 and will include many activities for both the young and the old.

“We’re hosting a colouring competition for the children and a charity quiz night that [will] hopefully raise some funds,” Shaw said.

There will also be a dress-up competition for children around Whanganui.

Details are available on the Whanganui Toy Library Facebook page.

The Whanganui Toy Library invites families to visit on a Thursday or Saturday morning to see what’s on offer. The library is at 142 London St, next to the SPCA.

This report was produced under the Public Interest Journalism initiative, funded by NZ on Air.