Community
15 May, 2024
Library’s plea for help
AFTER several acts of vandalism and a major break-in on April 14, the Cairns Toys Library is appealing to Cairns Regional Council and the community for support to strengthen their security.
The not-for-profit library in Pease St, Manoora, provides struggling families with toy loans for children ages 0-12. It is no stranger to acts of petty crime since their relocation to the venue on 2019, but the situation has become unbearable after a break-in on Sunday, April 14 where the accessible door was smashed, and key items to the operation of the organisation, like a laptop, iPad and internet dongle, were stolen.
“We’ve had many issues since the beginning. They’ve broken into our shed a few times, we’ve had someone come and take all our copper piping from the outside of the building, and then this happened,” said Cairns Toy Library president Ailsa Horsburg.
“All of our digital stuff was taken – laptops, iPads, things that we can’t cope without because all of our borrowing and cataloguing is done online. They went through the toys and took some, they’ve taken all our stationery right down to the sticky tape and all of our tools,” she said.
“There are no cameras, and the building doesn’t even have a telephone line and we can’t afford to put one in.”
Ms Horsburg said security was a priority for the organisation as it continued to grow.
“Security is at the top of our priority list for this year,” she said. “We currently have 150 families and we’re just keeping our heads above water.
“Right now we have no support whatsoever, state or council. We need sponsors or council support to help us get government grants, which would help with infrastructure costs to improve our security.
“We can’t afford to save, which is necessary to access a grant, because we don’t want our memberships to be out of reach for anyone (a standard membership is $60/year) especially during a cost-of-living crisis.
“We approximately save families $3000 a year on toys, and toy libraries are also environmentally-friendly because we’re preventing people from buying more cheap plastic toys that will go to landfill, so we would really like as much help as we can get.”
The library is currently holding a Cupcakes for a Cause fundraising sponsored by Jackley’s Bakehouse.
To support this fundraiser, donate or sponsor, visit the Cairns Toy Library’s Facebook page or email
cairnstoylibrary@gmail.com
