Creative, instructional and educational toys including Lincoln logs, Legos, wooden train sets, veterinarian play sets, puzzles, dolls houses, and games for children from infants to eight years old are available to borrow just like a library book. Children learn primarily through play, and the Toy Library aims to provide all children with the opportunity to play with a variety of high-quality toys, free of charge, in an environmentally conscious way.
The Toy Library is open to the public on Thursdays from 11am to noon and Saturdays from 10am to noon. Everyone with kids in their lives, from parents, caregivers, daycare providers, nannies, teachers, community members with visiting children and more are welcome to visit the Toy Library to play and/or check out up to three items per patron for three weeks. All toys, donated and new, meet federal safety regulations and are cleaned and sanitized with a non-toxic sanitizer upon return to the Toy Library.
In addition to lending toys, the Toy Library holds many free extra events, including extra hours and activities during spring break, a mid-summer celebration, a children’s Halloween costume swap and a Noon Year’s Celebration. Community-wide events the Toy Library has or will participate in this year include the Winter Warm Up, Valentine’s Bingo, the Community Yard Sale, Ring in Spring, the Hometown Festival and trunk-or-treat events.
Founded in 1980, the Toy Library is funded entirely through individual donations and money raised from the annual yard sale. Funds are used to purchase new toys and supplies needed to keep the Toy Library running and participate in community events. The Toy Library is located in the Community Place at Edgewater, 2497 Fenton Street. The Toy Library is run solely by volunteer community members and is always looking for additional volunteers; some tasks can be performed from home. The Toy Library is currently looking for a volunteer team to conduct an annual toy inventory to help keep the Toy Library well-organized.
The Toy Library is a member of the USA Toy Library Association, although toy libraries can be found worldwide. With this membership, volunteers are able to connect with other toy libraries and others have even found our Toy Library via this resource.
Interested in learning more about the Toy Library’s volunteer opportunities? Please contact [email protected], and to stay current with our toys and events, follow the Denver Toy Library on Facebook and Instagram.
