CHECK OUT THE TOYS PROGRAM LETS KIDS BORROW SMALL TREASURES.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

NEWHALL - More than 70 youngsters swarmed the county's Santa Clarita Valley Service Center on Thursday to help inaugurate a toy loan program that was first established during the Depression for kids in need.

The program brings more toys for children in one of Santa Clarita's poorest neighborhoods to borrow free for a week. The city has operated a similar program nearby since 1995.

``It's really heartwarming to be a part of such a nice program,'' said Pamela Collins of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services.

Toys will be loaned from 1 to 4 p.m. at the center, 24271 San Fernando Road. The system operates much like a library where children check out a toy for a week and return it. Youngsters who prove they are responsible in borrowing and returning toys can earn a toy to keep.

The county's toy loan program has been operating since 1935, developed by a shopkeeper and a school principal in Los Angeles after two boys were apprehended for stealing toys from a dime store.

``The store manager saw two boys wandering around the store pocketing small toys and materials to make toys,'' Collins said. ``The store manager and the local principal got together and decided something needed to be done. The idea of gathering and loaning out toys was conceived.''

The idea was to reinforce honesty, responsibility, courtesy and integrity by allowing children to borrow toys on the condition they return them on time and in good condition.

The county now operates 51 such centers in parks, housing projects, community service buildings and homeless shelters, she said. The county is recruiting volunteers to work the local center and is planning an expansion to Val Verde, a low-income community near Castaic.

Just up the street in Newhall, the city of Santa Clarita operates a 7-year-old toy library at the city's Newhall Community Center. As many as 50 children check out everything from Barbies to Legos, toy trucks to educational games every Wednesday, said Hope Horner, the center's supervisor.

The city program is open from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and operates much the same way, allowing children to check out a toy for a week and offering rewards to children who return them on time and in good shape.

``It's so nice to be able to provide the service,'' Horner said. ``There's a little bit of everything, like a mini-toy store. The kids can pick out what they want to play with.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Betsua Vera, 4, finds the toy she wants to borrow from the new toy loan center at the Santa Clarita Valley Service Center in Newhall.

(2 -- color) Kids line up to borrow toys at the new toy loan center. Youngsters who prove they are responsible in borrowing and returning toys can earn a toy to keep.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer