HELPING NEEDY KIDS WITH PLAY\Toy library planning 1st anniversary party.

Byline: James J. Rodriguez Daily News Staff Writer

Designed to give needy children a chance to play with toys their parents normally couldn't afford, the Santa Clarita Toy Library continues to expand and will celebrate its first anniversary next month.

"We started with 22 kids a year ago," said Renee Sabol, co-founder of the Santa Clarita Valley program. "Now we have on average 80 children. It's been wonderful."

To celebrate its anniversary, the toy library is expanding to include a Parents Resource Library, which will include videos presenting teaching skills for parents, educational games and books.

"Now we just want to give a little bit more back to the parents," Sabol said. "If you work five days a week, it's difficult for them to get out and get things. The items featured will be available for parents to borrow at no cost for a period of two weeks."

The hope is that parents will take educational games home and work with their children, Sabol said.

"We envision this program to be a viable resource for the parents of Santa Clarita," she added. "We hope to offer a service not only to those in need of parenting and educational materials, but to those parents who want to share in their child's academic and emotional growth."

An anniversary celebration with refreshments and activities will be held at 3:30 p.m. March 6 at the toy library in the Newhall Community Center, 24406 San Fernando Road.

Although a toy-loan Program was started more than 60 years ago in Los Angeles County, it wasn't until last year that Sabol and Jan Uberstine brought one to the Santa Clarita Valley.

The program works much like a public library in that youngsters get to borrow toys like they do books. The local program has about 300 toys in stock, including hand-held games, race cars, toy strollers, cradles and educational toys for toddlers.

"It's been so rewarding for Jan and me," Sabol said, adding that much of the program is dependent on donations. "The generosity of the citizens of this valley has been tremendously overwhelming."

It has been a busy first year for program operators. Because of a shortage of funds, the program operates just one day a week for two hours. But Sabol said she is hoping to expand those hours to coincide with the hours of the local community center.