By Alix Evans, leader at Stoke Gifford Rainbows.
Friday 8th March 2019 saw the celebrations for International Women’s Day and the six-month ‘anniversary’ of the opening of the Stoke Gifford Toy Library. Since opening in September, the Toy Library has been open around six days per week, even during the snow, with a wide selection of toys, games and books available for loan. The reaction from the residents has been fantastic, with lots of interactions on Facebook and Twitter, and ever-changing stock as new donations arrive each day. I’d like to thank everyone who has used or donated to the Toy Library – it’s truly a community resource and a focal point for the younger members of the village.
The Toy Library has had many different decoration themes over the past six months, with particular highlights being our Poppy Day and Advent Calendar displays. The Santa hat donated by the St Mike’s Yarn Bombers really made the Toy Library stand out, and the Rainbows and Brownies have had so much fun making the decorations.
Away from the Toy Library, the girls have been working hard on the new Guiding programme, learning lots of skills from making popcorn over tea lights (Rainbows), to how to project their voice when speaking to a crowd (Brownies) – perfect for the future adventurers and leaders we’re hoping to nurture!
The Rainbows are currently planning their sleepover at Slimbridge WWT, and the Brownies are very excited to be going on a joint Brownie holiday with another unit to experience the magic of Harry Potter.
Units across the division are always looking for volunteers to help us deliver our exciting programme – if you’d like to find out more, please contact fromevalleydivision@girlguidingbsg.org.uk or to get involved you can register on the Girlguiding web site: go.girlguiding.org.uk/join-us/join-as-volunteer/
• The Toy Library, located at The Green, Stoke Gifford works on a self-service basis and is unlocked by volunteers each day.
This article originally appeared in the April 2019 issue of the Stoke Gifford Journal magazine (on page 27). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to over 5,000 homes in Stoke Gifford, Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
