August 2020 Newsletter

Dear Members,

We hope that everyone is well and enjoying playing with the toys you have been hiring over the winter.

NEW LIBRARIAN

We would like to welcome Scarlett, our new librarian. She took over from Annabel at the end of July and since then as well as running sessions, she has overhauled our website, packaged up lots of toys and got us an Instagram account! If you haven’t been in yet, pop on in to meet her as she is trying to remember names and faces!

Member SURVEY

We recently sent out a survey via Survey Monkey to all members to ask about whether you would be interested in a quiz night as a fundraiser. If you haven’t yet replied to this, please do as it is just a quick one question with a yes or no response. We thought it could be a fun thing to do and just wanted to gauge interest amongst our members first.

RECRUITING FOR NEW MEMBERS

Next month we are running a promotion called “Refer a member September“. We are looking for new members to join our library so if you know anyone who might be interested in joining, then as an incentive, both you and the person joining get a free $10 red spot card. Word of mouth is the best way for us to get new members so please think about who you could refer us to! We also have new flyers promoting our library printed so if you can take a few to music groups, playcentre, daycare etc, that would be greatly appreciated. Just ask Scarlett at the library for some.

TOY WISH LIST

We are currently trying to write a WISH LIST of toys that we would like to purchase for the library that we can buy with our grant money. We would like to replace/upgrade some of our old favourites that are looking tired and also buy new and exciting toys. If you have any suggestions of toys you would like to see in our library, please either talk to Scarlett or email the library. We really want to buy what our members would like to hire!

ROSTER

Thank you to all of you who signed up for the latest roster by the cut off date. Those people who didn’t, you have been allocated a roster date so please check when this is. Scarlett is sending out text messages to members before your duty date to remind you. Please remember that if you cannot make your duty then YOU need to arrange a swap with another member or ring a DUTY FOR HIRE and arrange for them to do your duty (the cost of this is $30 that you pay directly to the duty for hire person).

Of course if you or your family are sick then please contact us as early as possible to let us know so we can find someone to cover you.
In the past we always said you are required to do about 4 duties a year and that is still the case but we have now changed it to a number of hours of duty on our MiBase roster page. So 4 x Saturday duties (2hrs) is 8 hours. As Thursday night duties are only 1 ½ hours then if you only do Thursday nights then you will be required to do 5-6 duties. We wanted to make this fair for everyone to ensure that everyone was doing the same hours volunteering. MiBase keeps a tally in the rosters page of how many hours you have done and how many you have left to do for the year.

LEVEL 2 REMINDERS

  • At this stage we will be open our normal hours on Thursday and Saturday
  • Please come in alone.
  • Please come in only if you are well. If anyone in your household is unwell then please do not come in.
  • Please use the hand sanitizer provided as you arrive and scan the COVID tracing QR code.
  • Toys must be cleaned by yourself, at the library at our cleaning stations when you arrive before the toys can be counted. Your toys will then be set aside to dry and cannot be issued again until the next session.
  • Please make an extra effort to return toys complete with no missing pieces.
  • Only 2 members in the library area, to choose toys, at one time. Please try to be as quick as you can. We will set up an issuing desk in the main hall to ensure space between members and our librarian and volunteers.
  • Please keep practising appropriate social distancing and safe practises.
  • No overdue fines will be charged if you can’t come in to change/return toys because of sickness. Please email us to let us know if you or your family are sick and you need to renew your toys.

FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM

Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates, messages, reminders and photos of new toys for hire!

Take care,

The Waimairi Toy Library Committee