Erin Haluschak
Record Staff
In a series of baby steps, the Comox Valley Toy Library just completed their biggest leap.
The year-old library that provides new toys every week to members without clutter or cost has found a permanent home at St. George's United Church.
"We have a central place in the community which is multipurpose; it's not only about people taking and exchanging toys, but moms can hang out with each other and we can host story times," explained volunteer Vivian Vaillant.
In February, the CVTL was scrambling to find a permanent home by the end of March, or else its collection of toys which it lends out for a yearly membership may have had to go into storage.
Rev. Ryan Slifka said it's the hope of St. George's to use their building for the good of the community.
"Partnering for us is about helping not only other community groups, but also discouraging consumerism and encouraging thrift. It's a spiritual problem of our society,” he said.
Slifka added often downtowns aren't known as family-friendly places, and hopes hosting the CVTL along with the food pantry and Sonshine Lunch Club program will bring an element of providing for the social needs of the larger community.
Vaillant explained while the CVTL is excited about the centrality of the new location, the group still faces some challenges: to find funding for liability insurance and to increase the number of volunteers and raise awareness.
"The insurance protects us and our volunteers," she noted. "Last year, our president fronted the funds for the insurance to get it going. That's not a possibility this year. We're hoping someone who perhaps doesn't have children or someone who sees the value of changing the concept of toy ownership may be able to help donate."
Vaillant added the entire organization is volunteer-run, and they would like to increase the number of new volunteers to 40.
"They run everything from cleaning, logging toys, paperwork and more. It's a lot of fun, and it's just a couple of hours at a time — grab a girlfriend and that's an automatic coffee date."
The CVTL will be closed until April 13 to transition into their new home, but will host a grand opening fundraising party April 12 with a bake sale, silent auction and face painting. They have set up a youcaring.org page to fundraise for their insurance. For more information, visit or to volunteer, visit cvtoylibrary.weebly.com or email cvtoylibrary@gmail.com.
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