Ladies, it’s time to come out of the tool closet.
You know who you are: A woman who loves wandering the power tool aisles at Home Depot; is always ready with the right screwdriver; who keeps wrenches in the trunk of the car. Next week, you can celebrate your passion at the first “Chicks Rock the Warehouse,” a free event at the Atlanta Community Tool Bank, a nonprofit that lends tools to civic, school and charitable groups.
The March 8 party coincides with International Women’s Day, when groups around the world hold events to raise awareness of and show support for a variety of issues. For the Tool Bank’s Executive Director Patty Russart, the warehouse shindig will spotlight the organization’s outreach efforts while showcasing its female-dominated staff of leaders and volunteers.
“Since we are run by women, we thought this was a good time to celebrate what we do and to bring in other women to talk about what a difference we can make in the community,” said Russart. “We’ve been around for 20 years, but there are still quite a few people in Atlanta who don’t know we exist.”
Even those who know about the Tool Bank are often surprised to find that the key people in charge are women. But it’s not that unusual, said Outreach Director Gina Chaves.
“Nationally, more than 92 percent of service projects are managed by women,” she said.
Women took over three years ago when the former male director left to launch a national Tool Bank initiative. There are now operations based on the Atlanta model in Charlotte, Baltimore and Cincinnati, all of which are also run by women. Though it’s not a requirement, Russart, a former Chicagoan with a mining engineering degree who now lives in Johns Creek, admits to a life-long fascination with tools. Good thing, too: Her office, a warehouse near Turner Field, is packed with 178 different types of tools, amassed through private and corporate donations as well as purchases.
“We can easily equip two or 2,500 people,” said Chaves. “The largest we’ve done is Hands on Atlanta day when we worked with 10,000 volunteers. And every October, we set up a temporary lending location in Duluth for the Gwinnett Great Day of Service.”
The inventory, worth about $250,000, includes everything from bits and blades to pressure washers and laser levels. It’s maintained, stored and circulated by volunteers who do everything from painting the tools bright blue -- a sign they belong to the bank -- to staffing tool drives where the public can make donations. Christy Jellets, a Fayetteville resident whose day job is overseeing the facilities at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, has devoted her spare time to the tool bank since 1999 when she heard about it through a friend.
“I do everything from unloading returning tools from trucks to speaking to nonprofits about how they can get involved,” she said. “I like that the bank helps a multitude of people around Atlanta and that I get to hear about what’s going on in this neighborhood, with this church, with this nonprofit. It’s also where my daughter, who’s now in college, has learned about helping the community.”
Those social and community connections are what bring many volunteers to the bank, not the knowledge of tools, said Chaves. And they also like supporting what is, in effect, a massive recycling project.
“We are a green organization,” said Chaves. “We put tools to good use, fix them when they break and store them so other groups do not have to duplicate the service. People can get the tools they need to do a project without buying them, so they save money that they can use on other projects. It’s efficient and practical, and really does work.”
At the “Rock the Warehouse” party, Chaves hopes to introduce the organization to more women, whether they can tell a sander from a circular saw or not.
“We want people to know they’re welcome even if they just want to help out,” she said. “Our warehouse is easy to navigate; everything is labeled with a photo. But we have lots of opportunities that don’t involve tools, too.”
Information about the Tool Bank is online at www.atlanta.toolbank.org; 404-880-.0054. /cq/
Chicks Rock the Warehouse
5:30-7:30 p.m., March 8
The Atlanta Community Tool Bank, 855 Ormond Street, Atlanta
Hard hat tour begins at 6:15 p.m., followed by "get connected" session at 6:30. Wine and beverages will be served.
About the Author
