THE Rainbow Toy Library will open an extra day a week each year following a presentation of £780 to Watford and District Mencap by the Abbey National Charitable Trust.

The Rainbow Toy Library is one of the many services offered by Watford and District Mencap at the Lemarie Activities Club. The charity works with people with learning disabilities, their families and carers, fighting to end discrimination and providing a wide range of quality services.

The Toy Library provides respite care for parents and a safe, stimulating play environment for children with special needs. It also lends out toys which are safe and appeal to children with learning disabilities such as Down's syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy.

The library is currently only open for one session on Saturday mornings from 10.30am to 12.30pm and the huge demand for this service means this extra session will make a real difference.

Further equipment still needs to be bought, such as safety helmets for the bicycles, and funding needs to be secured for other projects at the Lemarie Centre. Anyone interested in providing support to Mencap should contact Louise Braithwaite, fundraiser for Watford and District Mencap on 01923 779 339.

Abbey National's Sue Fenton said: "The well being of the whole community is important if our business is to be successful. Mencap makes an important contribution to this and I hope our support will encourage other local companies to help."

June 17, 2002 11:00