Following the recent burglary of the NE Seattle Tool Library in Wedgwood, the City of Seattle has pledged $5,000 to help the organization rebuild its inventory. It is estimated that $10,000 in power tools was stolen sometime this past weekend.
“The Tool Library is a true asset to Seattle – a community resource, a place to learn new skills and a venue to connect with neighbors,” said Mayor Ed Murray. “I encourage residents and businesses to match the City’s commitment to get this organization back on its feet.”
The NE Seattle Tool Library is a volunteer-staffed, nonprofit organization providing community access to a wide variety of tools, training, and sustainable resources. The organization helps its neighbors regardless of income, while reducing consumption of tools through sharing, repair, and reuse. Community members can join the library to borrow tools and take classes to pursue such activities as backyard gardens, home energy improvements, food preservation and water harvesting. The Tool Library also hosts community events.
“The Tool Library encompasses so many people: our founders in Sustainable NE Seattle, our many volunteers and thousands of members in the community,” said Sarah Kautz, Tool Library coordinator. “This organization is truly a labor of love and cooperation, and we are so overwhelmed with gratitude in the wake of this incident. With the help of this gift from the City, we will be able to restock many of the shelves that took us almost three years to fill and continue lending these tools to the community.”
To donate, visit http://neseattletoollibrary.org/ and click on yellow Donate icon. Those interested in donating tools can visit the website for a list of tools needed. For more information, call 206-524-6062 or email neseattletoollibrary@gmail.com.
The NE Seattle Tool Library started as a project of Sustainable NE Seattle in 2012 and opened its doors in January of 2013. It received a $25,000 Small and Simple Projects Fund award from Seattle Department of Neighborhoods later that year to help it grow its inventory, train volunteers, and establish regular hours. Most of its Steering Committee members were founding members of the Library and are still actively involved.
“There is a strong sense of community created by the NE Seattle Tool Library,” said Kathy Nyland, director of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. “We believed in this project several years ago when we funded it through our Neighborhood Matching Fund program. We still believe in it, which is why this gesture is so supported. We want our projects to continue to succeed, and this donation will help on that front.”