Lakewood Tool Box Now Open For Business

LakewoodAlive's Allison Urbanek and Matt Clark pose at the Lakewood Tool Box.

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Let the tool borrowing commence, Lakewoodites.

LakewoodAlive celebrated the opening of the Lakewood Tool Box with a Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony and Open House on June 4 on the grounds of the Lake Erie Building in the Historic Birdtown Neighborhood. The Lakewood Tool Box will offer community members an affordable and educational option for borrowing tools that are essential for completing home repairs to ensure we live in healthy and safe homes. 

Here’s what you need to know about LakewoodAlive’s new tool-lending library:

• Location: The Lakewood Tool Box is housed in a large shipping container that is accessible to the public from the back corner of the Lake Erie Building’s East Lot near the intersection of Athens and Halstead Avenues.
• Hours of Operation: The Lakewood Tool Box will be open throughout the summer on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Membership: Lakewood Tool Box membership is open to all Lakewood residents, tenants and landlords. Proof of Lakewood residency is required through a valid driver’s license and utility bills.
• Pricing: The annual membership fee is $30 per resident/tenant and $75 per landlord. Tools will then be priced for borrowing on a per-item basis. There will also be opportunities to become a “Friend of the Tool Box,” whereby residents can make a tax-deductible donation to the program.
• Tool Availability: The Lakewood Tool Box offers approximately 60 rentable tools, ranging from standard hand tools to equipment for larger projects. Tools are rented on a first-come, first-served basis.

Lakewood Tool Box Coordinator Matt Clark will be available to provide hands-on education and lend his expertise regarding home improvement projects. Matt, a Lakewood resident who spent 17 years working at Erie Industrial, has extensive experience with a wide variety of tools, as well as with carpentry and welding.

“On behalf of our entire organization, we are excited to unveil the Lakewood Tool Box to our community,” said Allison Urbanek, LakewoodAlive’s Housing & Internal Operations Director. “We look forward to having this program afford all community members the opportunity to rent one-time-use tools, while also enabling us to better assist low-to-moderate income residents with their home repairs. Ultimately, our goal is to help ensure all Lakewood residents live in healthy and safe homes.”

The Lakewood Tool Box is a program that will provide home improvement and repair tools for members of the community.  This program will help residents to make health, safety and cosmetic improvements, not only making their residence a safer place to call home, but helping to maintain or improve their housing value, which benefits both the resident and the entire neighborhood.

LakewoodAlive thanks the following partners for helping to make the Lakewood Tool Box possible: The City of Lakewood, Cox, Ferry Cap & Set Screw - a Stanley Black and Decker Company, Omni Lakewood, Rotary Club of Lakewood and Rocky River, and the many supporters of our Lakewood Tool Box crowdfunding initiative. The Lakewood Tool Box has been dedicated posthumously to Fred Cortright, a great friend to our organization.

For more information regarding the Lakewood Tool Box, visit LakewoodAlive.org/ToolBox or contact Allison Urbanek at 216-521-0655 or aurbanek@lakewoodalive.org.