The Rotary Club of Ballarat Young Ambition group raised $2000 for the library, as part of their aim to support young people and families in Ballarat. 

Ballarat Toy Library president Sally Tuck said the funding would allow the volunteer run organisation to invest in new toys and repair old ones. 

“We find it not so challenging for people to provide new toys, the tricky part is the maintenance and paying for the bills to do with the organisation like electricity. It is those nuts and bolts that make sure the library is here year to year,” she said. 

Around 80 families are members with the Ballarat Toy Library, which lends a range of toys for children mainly zero to six-years-old. Volunteers have been providing the service to Ballarat families for over 40 years. 

“Joining the toy library means you don’t have to store toys at home, instead they can grow with the children. It is always something new and exciting every time they come in,” Ms Tuck said.

“A lot of families, particularly when funds are tight, have children drooling over catalogues. We provide the opportunity for some of those bigger really cool toys to come into the lives of kids that maybe wouldn’t have been able to get them otherwise.”

Around 20 members of the Rotary Club of Ballarat Young Ambition group worked to raise the $2000 donation, with a hole in one golf competition at Lake Wendouree at the Ballarat Beer Festival proving a successful fundraising event.

The group who meet once a fortnight and run fundraising activities throughout the year, are looking for new members. 

“Networking is a big thing for us, with many young business people and workers in town,” Young Ambition president Dominic Morrison said.

“Fundraising is a bonus. A lot of us are doing well in the community so to be able to give something back is what most of our members see as a big plus.”

The group volunteer at Spring Fest, Beer Fest, Swap Meet, run a winter appeal for goods for the homeless and support community organisations like the Toy Library and Eureka Mums.