SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – There are many different backgrounds and cultures represented here in Sioux Falls and around the state. That’s why one local organization wants to help kids learn about them at a young age.

The amount of people checking out these boxes has been growing.

Just last year nearly 6,000 were checked out by families.

Now the organization wants to continue to expand its impact.

“We are always looking for how can we make this better, how can we make it more inclusive, and how can we use the toy boxes to help educate families, caregivers, children, and one idea was to create toy boxes to showcase countries and cultures,” executive director, Toy Lending Library, Anelis Coscioni said.

In the boxes, she’d like to include different toys, books, and even music from different countries and cultures.

“In Brazil for example, we have many things that show what Brazil is, same as the US, but the first thing we think is soccer, so we are going to have a soccer ball and I bought a book with Brazilian nursery rhymes, in Portuguese and English, and if you press a button, you can hear that being sung in Portuguese,” Coscioni said.

Coscioni is asking community members to help her build boxes to include many other cultures and countries.

Daria Kostina is from Russia, and has volunteered to help.

“I would probably do a nesting doll and bilingual book, so kids can understand and parents can understand,” helping build boxes, Daria Kostina said. “I think it is really awesome to expose kids to these kinds of things early in life, there are other people in the world who speak differently.”

Showcasing people of all backgrounds from around the world.

“It creates inclusion, once you know more about a culture, you can ask questions, caregivers can talk to them, like ‘what do you think of Brazil, what kind of food do you think they eat, what kind of games do they play,'” Coscioni said.

Coscioni also wants to create a box centered around South Dakota, to help those moving here from a different place.

For more information on how you can help build the toy boxes, you can call 605-215-0575.