SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — An organization encouraging young children to learn through play is looking to add to its toy collection.

The Toy Lending Library is always in the market for donations, but the organization is making an extra push during October.

“We are asking the community, if they have toys and books for kids 0-5 that they are no longer using we would be happy to accept them,” Toy Lending Library Executive Director Anelis Coscioni said.

The Toy Lending Library is partnering with Siouxland Libraries on a toy drive. You can drop off new or gently used toys and books at eight Siouxland Libraries locations. Executive Director Anelis Coscioni says all types of toys are welcomed, but they do have their favorites.

“We have some brands that we like, for example, Green Toys, Fat Brain Toys, and Plan Toys, they are awesome toys. They are very durable and we can use over and over again,” Coscioni said.

The Toy Lending Library has created nearly 1,500 toy boxes, but every donation is important as Siouxland Libraries alone has families checking out more than 600 boxes per month.

“We started this program eight years ago. We just had toys at two of our branches in Sioux Falls. We now have it at all five locations and all of our larger locations in Minnehaha County,” Siouxland Libraries Director Jodi Fick said.

Jodi Fick is Director of Siouxland Libraries.

“This is an excellent time to look through your toys as you prepare for the holiday season and go, OK my child isn’t playing with this anymore but I know another ten or 20 or 30 children would enjoy this and it would help expand their minds,” Fick said.

Helping youngsters prepare for school through play.

“There’s a lot of little skills they work on that you don’t even notice but they are learning when they are playing. Having those resources, having different toys for them helps give them more tools to learn those skills they’ll need to be prepared to go to kindergarten,” Coscioni said.

The Toy Drive runs through October 31st. You can donate toys or books at the following Siouxland Libraries: Downtown, Oak View, Prairie West, Caille, Ronning, Brandon, Colton, and Humboldt.