The Richmond Tool Library will lend free building and landscaping tools to provide residents with opportunities to be self-sufficient, to take agency over their neighborhoods, and to build a more sustainable Richmond, CA
Leader
Guadalupe Morales
Location
3230 Macdonald Ave Richmond, CA 94804
Imagine having access to all of the tools you see at your local hardware store, for free. Table saws, electric sanders, drills, and hedge trimmers, ladders, cement mixers, potter’s wheels, and weed eaters… think for a moment how many BIG projects you could take on. Welcome to Richmond’s first-ever public Tool Library.
Our mission is to build a stronger sense of community in Richmond by inviting neighbors to work together on revitalization projects. We want residents to join forces with city partners towards a shared vision and provide them with access to tools to maintain their homes and community gathering spaces. Through this resource we will reinforce local resilience and collective ownership of this beautiful city by the Bay.
Our library will be free but we need funding to get it started. We have a location through Richmond’s Recreation Department, insurance through our fiscal sponsor Urban Tilth, staff through the Love Your Block Initiative, a website through the City of Richmond, and tools from individual donors and Richmond’s Parks Department.
We need to raise $12,598 to outfit the library with a brand new inventory of tools and a newly renovated location to house them. Help us make this campaign a success and we can get our doors open as early as May, 2016!
Tool-gether, we can build a better Richmond.
May 1st: Purchase and log tools into the Richmond Public Library’s tracking system. (Check out “Budget” tab for all the tools we will buy!)
May 15th: Community work day to paint the library, set up security/check-out system, and build racks to store tools.
May 16th-21st: Staff and volunteer training.
May 31st: Grand Opening!
Ongoing: Tool maintenance and tool maintenance training.
Richmond’s General Plan states, “After 30 years most housing units show signs of deterioration and need reinvestment to maintain livable conditions. Without proper maintenance, housing that is over 50 years old requires major reinvestment to maintain its quality and appearance. As of 2010, 70.4 percent of Richmond’s housing units were over 30 years old and 48.5 percent were over 50 years old.”
The saying goes, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” There is nothing that we can do about the lack of upkeep that our housing stock has received but we can begin to reverse that process today.
While many Richmond residents recognize the need to maintain their homes and community spaces, most do not have $400 lying around to spend on a jigsaw or shop vac. The Richmond Tool Library will provide free access to tools that are difficult to store and that residents only need once.
We want to create an unstoppable team made up of residents, nonprofits, and city staff. In the process of repairing our houses and fixing our public spaces, we will increase property values in Richmond, raise the tax base, and grow stronger as a whole.
The tax deductibility of your contribution may be affected by goods or services received. Please contact your financial advisor with questions regarding your donation.
