Timber tops: Barwon Valley Woodwright’s Neville Condi and Graeme Lorimer with examples of the items children will work on as part of the Toys for Tots program.
Andrew Mathieson
A NEW charity program to teach kids appreciation for toys made to last will launch this weekend in conjunction with an annual Geelong exhibition of wood-turning skills.
Barwon Valley Woodwrights’s Toys for Tots program will make plastic off-limits for participating children. Instead, the group will use woodcrafting, burning, carving to interest young minds.
Toys for Tots organiser Graeme Lorimer said Barwon Valley Woodwrights members would oversee the program.
“It will be a bit of a have-a-go-kids, build-your-own-toys (session) and we’ll give you a hand if you like,” Mr Lorimer said.
“We’ll have little bags of nails and make sure people can help them get things hammered together.
“In some cases, for kinder kids it might just be a case of dobbing glue on a bit of wheels.”
Mr Lorimer said the old-fashioned craft of toy making had “taken off like a rocket” in many local men’s sheds.
“We’re just giving it a pilot run this year but in the future we hope they can have a painting section where they can texture it.”
Mr Lorimer said a previously Barwon Valley Woodwrights program of building spinning tops had raised hundreds of dollars for Geelong’s United Way charity programs.
The Woodrights’ 20th annual exhibition will be at Geelong’s State Government offices, on the corner of Fenwick and Lt Malop Streets, from 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday.
