Tool Time

Atlanta ToolBank marks 25th anniversary with new volunteer training program

By Grace Huseth

If you’ve ever volunteered on a construction site or building project for a nonprofit, chances are the myriad of tools in use came from the Atlanta Community ToolBank.

The ToolBank, which is marking its 25th anniversary this year, has worked with hundreds of nonprofits in metro Atlanta, allocating their inventory of tools for lending to charitable organizations.

“We are a nonprofit for nonprofits, a resource that nonprofits can actually utilize in an efficient and affordable manner,” said ToolBank’s Executive Director Patty Russart.

Borrowing tools can range from a Girl Scout troop needing hammers to make birdhouses to more labor-intensive projects like roof repairs for low-income seniors by HouseProud Atlanta. More than 230 Atlanta nonprofits borrow tools annually, including Park Pride, Trees Atlanta, Hands On Atlanta, Team Buzz and Buckhead Church.

By the numbers, the Atlanta Community ToolBank, located in Chosewood Park, has 237 different types of tools and over 45,000 individual pieces, and more than $1.6 million worth of tools in the warehouse.

Operations manager CJ Clark said she has been slinging tools for 11 years, but now manages warehouse operations in addition to the ToolBank’s new addition, the Tool Training Center.

“We have always talked about training on tools, specifically training volunteers in advance so that when nonprofits are looking for skilled volunteers they can be trained and confident,” Clark said.

The Tool Training Center is an open, 2,500-square-foot space designed to teach community groups safe and proper tool use to people of all ages. The workshop’s large, glass garage doors overlook the Atlanta skyline while a number of tables await new apprentices with place settings of gloves, safety glasses and hammers.

The first pilot training center session was held last summer when Home Depot volunteers worked with youth from Chris Kids to build tables for the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta. Since this year’s launch, the center has seen an influx of trainees. Cox Automotive sent in volunteers for Tool Training and learned how to use tools by building tool boxes, while nonprofit W-Underdogs built dog houses for pets in need. The Mission Continues utilized the Training Center to complete an outdoor activity center at Perkerson Elementary.

“Up to 95 percent of schools no longer have shop classes, leaving kids without the exposure to tools at all. It’s fascinating to them what you can do with your hands,” Clark said.

The Tool Training Center was busy this summer with the Summer Camp Tool Training Program sponsored by Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, LLP. The City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation’s Centers of Hope partnered with the ToolBank to introduce tool usage, teach volunteerism to students and introduce them to trades with tools during a seven-week summer camp series.

“Launching the Training Center and seeing our dreams realized in our 25th year was one of the most joyous things in my career,” Russart said.

For more information, visit atlanta. toolbank.org.