ToolBank USA

In case you missed this year's ToolBank USA Tools For Change National Awards, you can watch it on YOUTUBE! Enjoy all the exciting things happening around our network from the comfort of your couch.

📺🔗WATCH: https://youtu.be/e6hThBu4iYs?si=b3i2viTNjHg9tMQy

THIS YEAR'S WINNERS:
🛠️ ToolBank Affiliate of the Year " Golden Hammer Winner: CHARLOTTE TOOLBANK

💪 Wilkenson Millenary Volunteer Award Winners: Stephanie Eaddy (Baltimore) & Linda Rincon (Houston)

👩‍💼 Rupert Barkoff Exemplary Affiliate Director Award Winner: Jessica Pohto (Windy City)

💙 Dan Webber Brand Ambassador Award Winner: Nancey Farrington (Phoenix)

💻 Bobby Mason Award for Technology Innovation: Atlanta ToolBank & Charlotte ToolBank

🏆 ToolBanker for Life: Jon Howland (Stanley Black & Decker)

Congratulations to this year's ToolBank National Awards WINNERS! Our ToolBank USA Team is so proud of the incredible work happening across our ToolBank network.

🛠️ ToolBank Affiliate of the Year " Golden Hammer Winner: CHARLOTTE TOOLBANK

💪 Wilkenson Millenary Volunteer Award Winners: Stephanie Eaddy (Baltimore) & Linda Rincon (Houston)

👩‍💼 Rupert Barkoff Exemplary Affiliate Director Award Winner: Jessica Pohto (Windy City)

💙 Dan Webber Brand Ambassador Award Winner: Nancey Farrington (Phoenix)

💻 Bobby Mason Award for Technology Innovation: Atlanta ToolBank & Charlotte ToolBank

🏆 ToolBanker for Life: Jon Howland (Stanley Black & Decker)

The National Awards had plenty of shenanigans...especially when you give Bill and Trey a microphone! Our ToolBank USA CEO, Patty, and Ace from Envoy did the majority of the heavy lifting when it came to hosting this year's show and powered through a minor technical issue like champs. Thank you to everyone who attended the awards at the Park and those who tuned in virtually!

The ToolBank USA Team hosted our annual National Awards a few weeks ago in Richmond, VA. Here are a few shots of the cocktail hour before we announced the winners! Our team was able to mingle with some of our board members and those from the Richmond Community ToolBank. It was an excellent opportunity to meet everyone in person and recognize everyone doing incredible things across our network.

📰 IN THE NEWS: (Houma Today) Nonprofit Toolbank USA offers tools to groups to serve communities. New Orleans to get hub: A nonprofit brought free tools to help Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Ida, and now it's setting up a permanent presence in the state.

Toolbank USA is a nonprofit that lends and/or rents out tools to other organizations. It has two arms to its organization: the disaster arm and the affiliate arm. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, the disaster branch rushed multiple trailers full of construction, demolition and landscaping tools to areas of Terrebonne and Lafourche. In some of those areas they still are being used, such as in Point Aux Chenes by groups like Blessed Assurance and Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief Groups. In Grand Isle, the Cajun Commissary is doing repair work with them.

🔗Read the full article at: https://www.houmatoday.com/story/news/local/2023/11/24/toolbank-usa-offers-tools-to-other-groups-to-serve-communities/71676121007/

Nonprofit Toolbank USA offers tools to groups to serve communities. New Orleans to get hub A nonprofit brought free tools to help Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Ida, and now it's setting up a permanent affiliate.

Grainger Disaster Relief Kits were distributed in New Orleans with our friends at Culture Aid NOLA and Headway (Bastion Community). These buckets will help the community with disaster preparedness during a natural disaster. Buckets are filled with approximately $125 worth of tools and cleaning supplies.

Culture Aid NOLA is a non-traditional food bank serving free food in New Orleans, whose goal is to be a welcoming place where it is easy and stigma-free to get food for your family, friends and neighbors. Headway is a multifaceted community integration program for veterans who served on or after 9/11 living with a brain injury, spinal cord injury, or other neurological condition. They work with warriors and caregivers to maximize independence, improve skills, and build supportive networks.

📈2023 has been a year of tremendous growth for ToolBank USA. Our team has expanded our ToolBank Disaster Services (TDS) operations from the East Coast to the West, with locations now in Tampa, Windy City, Sacramento, and Denver. We are opening Community ToolBanks in Birmingham and New Orleans. And the ToolBank affiliates are on course for a record-breaking year of equipping volunteers with the right tools to make positive change in their communities. These numbers are even more impressive when you factor in the launch of our brand new Tool Tracking Manager (TOM)!

So what more do we need? We need your continued support through donations, volunteering and advocacy.

You can help us in three ways:
1. 💰Funding: unrestricted funding, in-kind donations, trailer sponsorships, corporate volunteer build events, grants, and corporate partnerships.
2. 🛠️Assets: tools, locations (Community ToolBanks & TDS), TDS response trailers, consumables, equipment, talent, and technology...especially for our network Tool Order Manager (TOM)
3. 🗣️Advocacy: board members, community leaders/organizations, and social media followers

🔗DONATE NOW AT: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/toolbank-usa-end-of-the-year-giving-campaign-2023

Happy Giving Tools Day! As you're scrolling through your feeds and digging yourself out of your emails, we hope you will consider a gift to ToolBank USA this Giving Tuesday.

Donate now at: https://ow.ly/FiwM50QapE4

As always, we thank you and appreciate your generosity in support of our mission to serve community-based organizations by providing tools, equipment & expertise to empower their most ambitious goals.

🧑‍💻It's Cyber Monday...which means tomorrow is GIVING TUESDAY! We hope you consider giving to ToolBank USA and ToolBank Disaster Services this Giving Tuesday so that we can provide so much MORE for communities in need. Check out our posts tomorrow and see how much MORE we've already been able to do with your support.

🔗💰Donate now at: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/toolbank-usa-end-of-the-year-giving-campaign-2023

On behalf of the ToolBank USA staff, we wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for this year and couldn't be more grateful for all your hard work and support.

Our ToolBank USA offices will be closed on Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24, in observance of the holiday. Please check with your local ToolBank for their holiday hours.

Also, don't forget Giving Tuesday, or as we like to call it, GIVING TOOLS DAY, is just around the corner...please consider ToolBank USA next week. https://secure.givelively.org/donate/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/toolbank-usa-end-of-the-year-giving-campaign-2023

📆IT'S NATIONAL AWARDS DAY! 📺LIVE STREAM THE AWARDS AT 7:00PM EST TONIGHT!

🔗ZOOM LINK: https://envoyportfolio.zoom.us/j/88038473353?pwd=HKv8MB4f7C4GZAJarIk4oNzR0fNgCf.1

📆IT'S NATIONAL AWARDS DAY! Our annual ToolBank National Awards 🏆 will be held TONIGHT, at THE PARK RVA from 7pm - 8:30pm...with a cocktail hour starting at 6pm EST.

📺The event will also be live-streamed for those out-of-towners!
ZOOM LINK: https://envoyportfolio.zoom.us/j/88038473353?pwd=HKv8MB4f7C4GZAJarIk4oNzR0fNgCf.1

🎟️If you are in or around Richmond and would like to attend, you can purchase your ticket at https://secure.givelively.org/event/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/2023-toolbank-national-awards.

📆1 DAY AWAY: Our annual ToolBank National Awards 🏆 will be held on Thursday, November 16th, at THE PARK RVA from 7 pm - 8:30 pm...with a cocktail hour starting at 6 pm EST.

🎟️If you are in or around Richmond and would like to attend, you can purchase your ticket at https://secure.givelively.org/event/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/2023-toolbank-national-awards.

📺The event will also be live-streamed for those out-of-towners!
ZOOM LINK: https://envoyportfolio.zoom.us/j/88038473353?pwd=HKv8MB4f7C4GZAJarIk4oNzR0fNgCf.1

📆2 DAYS AWAY: Our annual ToolBank National Awards 🏆 will be held on Thursday, November 16th, at THE PARK RVA from 7 pm - 8:30 pm...with a cocktail hour starting at 6 pm EST.

🎟️If you are in or around Richmond and would like to attend, you can purchase your ticket at https://secure.givelively.org/event/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/2023-toolbank-national-awards.

📺The event will also be live-streamed for those out-of-towners!

📆3 DAYS AWAY: Our annual ToolBank National Awards 🏆 will be held on Thursday, November 16th, at THE PARK RVA from 7 pm - 8:30 pm...with a cocktail hour starting at 6 pm EST.

🎟️If you are in or around Richmond and would like to attend, you can purchase your ticket at https://secure.givelively.org/event/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/2023-toolbank-national-awards.

📺The event will also be live-streamed for those out-of-towners!

Happy Veteran's Day from the ToolBank USA team! Today is for our heroes. Let us honor the brave men and women that have fought for our country. We thank you for your service...and send out a special thanks to our veteran coworkers.

📆1 WEEK AWAY: Our annual ToolBank National Awards 🏆 will be held on Thursday, November 16th, at the Richmond ToolBank from 7 pm - 8:30 pm...with a cocktail hour starting at 6 pm EST.

🎟️If you are in or around Richmond and would like to attend, you can purchase your ticket at https://secure.givelively.org/event/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/2023-toolbank-national-awards.

📺The event will also be live-streamed for those out-of-towners!

Multiple cleanup days in New Orleans this past weekend! Our ToolBank Program Manager, David Melancon, joined up with teams from Central City and Gert Town neighborhoods. New Orleans District B Councilmember Lesli Harris joined her community's cleanup efforts, and so did Gert Town Board President Candes Carter in her area. Keep up the great work in your neighborhood with our ToolBank tools; we look forward to helping with many more cleanups!

📆2 WEEKS AWAY: Our ToolBank National Awards 🏆 will be held on Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Richmond ToolBank from 7 pm - 8:30 pm...with a cocktail hour starting at 6 pm EST.

🎟️If you want to attend in Richmond, you can purchase your ticket at https://secure.givelively.org/event/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/2023-toolbank-national-awards.

📺 ON THE NEWS: New Orleans ToolBank Program Manager David Melancon and Dr. Shondra Williams, Executive Director from InclusivCare were featured on FOX8 - NOLA NOW. David was able to explain the benefits to organizations that utilize ToolBank tools for their community efforts. Dr. Williams explained how they could borrow ToolBank tools and save thousands of dollars for their recent playground build at their Little Ivy Prep Early Learning Center.

📺 Check out their segment at https://www.nolanow.com/video/2023/10/24/tool-bank/

Tool Bank At Gray, our journalists report, write, edit and produce the news content that informs the communities we serve. Click here to learn more about our approach to artificial intelligence.

Happy Halloween from the ToolBank USA team! 👻🎃🛠️

📆3 WEEKS AWAY: Our annual ToolBank National Awards 🏆 will be held on Thursday, November 16th, at the Richmond ToolBank from 7 pm - 8:30 pm...with a cocktail hour starting at 6 pm EST.

🎟️If you are in or around Richmond and would like to attend, you can purchase your ticket at https://secure.givelively.org/event/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/2023-toolbank-national-awards.

📺The event will also be live-streamed for those out-of-towners!

Our Sacramento trailer is making the 500-mile trek to Palm Springs this week! Packed with tools that will be helping on a large-scale volunteer project. There's nothing better than seeing our blue tools put to work to help make a community better!

Check out more pictures from Councilman Eugene Green's visit to the New Orleans ToolBank. Program Manager David showed off our tools and equipment to the city councilman and explained the benefits for charitable organizations to utilize our inventory in the community. We appreciate Councilman Green taking the time to stop by our warehouse and learn more about the ToolBank.

Our ToolBank Disaster Services Program Manager, James Ramos, has been working with our friends at the West Slope Foundation to distribute Grainger disaster relief kits. The Foundation helps El Dorado County's Western Slope communities become better prepared while providing aid during the response and recovery stages of a disaster or declared emergency. These kits will provide tools and supplies for those who lost everything during the Caldor Fire and a "go pack" in case another disaster strikes.

Our New Orleans ToolBank Program Manager, David Melancon, was able to present at the City of New Orleans Neighborhood Enrichment Grant Orientation. The ToolBank is a partner organization for this project, and David was able to present what the ToolBank can do for a community and how neighborhood grant recipients can use our tools. Joining the group at this event was the Honorable Latoya Cantrell, Mayor of the City of New Orleans. Many thanks to all of those who attended and signed up to be a member of their local New Orleans ToolBank!

📆1 MONTH AWAY: Our annual ToolBank National Awards 🏆 will be held on Thursday, November 16th, at the Richmond ToolBank from 7 pm - 8:30 pm...with a cocktail hour starting at 6 pm EST.

🎟️If you are in or around Richmond and would like to attend, you can purchase your ticket at https://secure.givelively.org/event/toolbank-usa-inc-atlanta-ga/2023-toolbank-national-awards.

📺The event will also be live-streamed for those out-of-towners!

💕It's Breast Cancer Awareness Day!💕 Today is a day to come together and show our support for those affected by breast cancer...especially those who are a part of our ToolBank family. Let's honor and celebrate the courage, strength, and hope of those battling the disease and their families. Together, we can make a difference!

The Footprint Project borrowed some of our New Orleans ToolBank tools for the Las Vegas RE+ Events Solar Energy Trade Show. Over 40K clean energy professionals and 1,350+ exhibitors attended this event in September. The team from the Footprint Project partnered with RE+ to host the first-ever mobile microgrid build competition. Industry teams raced to build the best mobile microgrid for disaster power outage response.

Pictured are generator build teams from Solar for Women, a collaborative group of women working in solar, and the Las Vegas Fire & Rescue team. These groups were able to utilize our tools for these builds. Each team built a mobile solar generator on the conference floor over two days and brought it back home following the build for disaster response and training in their respective communities.

Learn more about the PowerUp Race for Resilience at https://www.re-plus.com/attend/race-for-resilience/ and more about the Footprint Project at http://www.footprintproject.org.

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It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 2 years since Hurricane Ida struck the coast of Louisiana. We often forget that rebuilding doesn’t happen overnight. Efforts are still underway in Pointe-aux-Chenes and homes are getting rebuilt with our blue ToolBank tools.

ToolBank Disaster Services is very proud to continue to supply tools and equipment for long-term recovery efforts after a disaster strikes in the US…at no charge. Our team stays as long as our tools are needed in these areas impacted by storms.

Keep up the great work in Louisiana! And we look forward to continuing to help all of our members in and around New Orleans!

Our blue tools have been at work in Puerto Rico to help rebuild a porch pergola. Jaime from our ToolBank Disaster Services team was on site for this build with the American Legion. The structure is looking great…especially when it’s all lit up with its new lights at night!

Today, we celebrate and honor Indigenous Americans by commemorating their histories and cultures. We honor the perseverance and courage of Indigenous peoples and show our gratitude for the contributions they have made to communities across the nation.