Title
Celebrating the one year anniversary of the Minnesota Toy Library in the City of Saint Paul.
Body
WHEREAS the Minnesota Toy Library was founded in 2014 with a purpose to provide age-appropriate learning materials for children that continuously change and grow while acknowledging the challenges and barriers to keep up; and
WHEREAS in its creation, eco-conscious, local mothers came together with the thought that there had to be a better way to do this that was not always buying new toys every time; and
WHEREAS these mothers began their research and found the toy library concept that originated in the U.S in the 1930's from a mother who desired to provide quality toys for her severely disabled children and the concept quickly expanded across the globe; and
WHEREAS shortly after, they began working towards establishing the Minneapolis Toy Library as a non-profit, found toy donations for the inventory and local book libraries to hold the borrowing events; and
WHEREAS they developed their mission which is reducing waste, fostering development, building community; and
WHEREAS they have three locations, Richfield Lutheran Church, in Northeast Minneapolis, Northeast United Methodist Church, and finally their third location in St Paul at Progressive Baptist Church and continue to look for additional locations and partners throughout the community; and
WHEREAS they have served close to 1700 members since it’s creation and have a current membership of 550 with about 10,000 toys between the three locations; and
WHEREAS they have received support from Hennepin County Green Partners Grant and the Minnesota Pollution and Control Agency that was instrumental in opening the Saint Paul Location; and
WHEREAS they offer a large variety of toys such as costumes, doll houses, musical instruments and adaptable toys to fit the needs of all children; and
WHEREAS the Executive Director of the Minnesota Toy Library, Rebecca Nutter stated “We are passionate about offering toy lending to families in Minnesota. By lending toys we are cutting down on waste associated with toys and playtime, giving children the materials they need to grow and learn, and building a community of people that care about our environment, children, and play; and
WHEREAS we uplift the work of Rebecca Nutter, Executive Director/Founder, Teresa Eisenbise, Northeast Director, Kari Carlson St. Paul Director and Member since 2017, volunteer and current treasurer Annette Sandager, that have made this amazing work possible; and
WHEREAS the Saint Paul City council believes it is important to uplift the everyday work of organizations and community leaders that make a difference in the lives of Saint Paul children and families; and
SO THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Saint Paul City council uplifts the one year anniversary of the Minnesota Toy library as they continue to expand locations, toy resources and joy across the City of Saint Paul for all children and families and looking forward to celebrating many more years in the future.