In the "Toy Story" films, Woody, the toy cowboy, is determined to help discarded or lost toys find a home. Toys, he reminds Buzz Lightyear, are meant to be played with.

Alexander Cassie might just be Wrentham's own real-life Woody, making sure forgotten toys find their way back into children's hands.

Five years ago, Cassie saw an opportunity to give discarded playthings another chance. He decided to start an annual toy swap as a way to rehome unwanted toys and also tame the excess around the holidays. By all accounts, it's been a resounding success, with a conservative estimate of thousands of toys finding new homes.

"I'd always thought a toy swap was a neat idea, but had never seen it in practice," said Cassie. "That first year was an experiment and a bit scrappy because we didn't know what to expect, but last year was bonkers, like Black Friday."

The swap is held every November, right before the holiday shopping season starts in earnest.

This year's event is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 28 at the Fiske Library. Toys and books can be dropped off on Tuesday, Nov. 24 from 4 to 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 25 from 10 a.m. to noon. Donations should be in good condition, and bicycles and clothing will not be accepted. Shoppers are asked to bring their own bags on the day of the swap. Children are encouraged to shop for friends and siblings, too.

Cassie and volunteers sort donations and books into categories just like in a department store, to make shopping easier for attendees. Last year, the Fiske Library provided a second room just for books, which helped alleviate the crush of people.

The swap works best if people donate things they'd want to get, Cassie said. Everything at the swap is free, and donating toys or books is not a prerequisite to take items home.

"We call it a swap just because that's the quickest way to conceptualize it, but it's not transactional at all," he explained. "You can come on Saturday and take home 1,000 toys, having never come to the library before in your life. Or you can clean out your attic and drop stuff off as long as it's clean and in good shape and you think someone else would enjoy it. Or you can do both."

Cassie and his wife, Krista Andberg, have three children and, like most parents, found themselves overwhelmed with toys and books their kids outgrew. They were also disheartened by all the packaging that came along with new toys and wanted a more mindful way to acquire playthings without generating additional waste.

According to the Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy, 90% of toys are made from plastic and other materials that complicate recycling efforts, and 80% of toys end up in landfills, incinerators, or nature. Most toys have an average use of six months before children tire of them.

"The swap is a great way to get stuff out of your house and into the hands of children that will want to play with them," says Cassie. "A toy could be great when you're eight but by the time you're eight-and-a half you lose interest. That's an opportunity to give it to the next kid."

Cassie emphasizes the community aspect of the swap too, noting most toys at the swap aren't going to a nameless donation place, but perhaps to a child down the street who will want to play with them. It's also a snapshot of what's popular in a given year, because the following year might see many donations of the same item.

Items that are left at the end of the swap are donated, with some, including books, staying at the Fiske for the library's ongoing craft and game swap area. According to Cassie, only a few boxes of toys remained after last year's swap, confirming that it had worked exactly how he thought it would.

"Anecdotally, we received the most toys we've ever gotten but almost as much went out the door again," he said. "The swap was conceptual for me for a long time, but I knew if people would just come they would get it. It's a real opportunity to do a lot of neat things at the same time. You get to clean stuff out, you get to recycle this stuff and keep it in your community. You can treasure hunt or find stocking stuffers...there's just so many cool things about this event, I want to shout it from the rooftops."

Perhaps the magic of the toy swap isn't just about clearing out clutter, however. Maybe it's also about ensuring every toy gets the chance to fulfill its true purpose. Just as the toys in "Toy Story" found new homes, the playthings exchanged in the swap might be thought of as headed off to infinity and beyond, right into the hands of another child to play with them.