Toy Loan is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that allows children to borrow toys from a Toy Loan Center in the same way as they would borrow books from a library. The Program is a voluntary community effort co-sponsored by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Department of Public Social Services. The free Toy Loan Program began in 1935 as a community effort in the Westchester area of Los Angeles during the Great Depression. The impetus of this effort was to loan toys to low-income children whose families could not afford toys. There are now over 50 centers located throughout Los Angeles County.