Tool Box Coordinator Hired; Initial Collection of Tools Assembled
It won’t be long until the Lakewood Tool Box is ready to 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.
LakewoodAlive’s Housing Outreach Program has been working diligently in hopes of launching this tool lending library in early June. Situated on the grounds of the Lake Erie Building in the Historic Birdtown Neighborhood, the Lakewood Tool Box is housed in a large shipping container that will be accessible to the public from the back corner of the building’s East Lot near the intersection of Athens and Halstead Avenues.
Matt Clark Hired as Tool Box Coordinator
LakewoodAlive is pleased to welcome Matt Clark as our Tool Box Coordinator. Matt, a graduate of John Carroll University who spent 12 years as General Manager at Erie Industrial, has extensive experience with a wide variety of tools, as well as with carpentry and welding.
“I’m excited to join the LakewoodAlive team,” said Matt. “For me, this is a chance to do two things I really enjoy – work with tools and help people solve problems with their homes.”
Matt is a Lakewood resident who lives on Cook Avenue. In his spare time he enjoys fishing, constructing wooden furniture and spending time with his family, including his children, aged 14 and 5.
Volunteer Day Results in Tool Assembly
A team of 10 volunteers joined the LakewoodAlive staff at the Tool Box on the last Saturday of April to install shelving and organize the initial batch of tools in preparation for next month’s launch. Many of these tools were made possible thanks to a generous tool donation by Lakewood-based Ferry Cap & Set Screw, a Stanley Black and Decker Company. A special thank you also goes to Cox for its support of this project.
“We are thrilled to
welcome Matt to our team, and grateful to the wonderful volunteers who helped
us to assemble tools in preparation for the launch of the Lakewood Tool Box,”
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.”
The Lakewood Tool Box is a program that will provide home improvement and repair tools for members of the community. The program is designed to offer a sliding scale of membership fee options that will enable people of all income levels to participate. This access will allow 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.
For more information regarding the Lakewood Tool Box, visit LakewoodAlive.org/ToolBox or contact Allison Urbanek at 216-521-0655 or aurbanek@lakewoodalive.org.
LakewoodAlive’s Housing Outreach Program offers a one-stop place for residents, both owner occupants and renters, to gain access to services so they are able to live in healthy and safe housing. The services connect residents with resources to maintain and sustain the community’s historic housing stock and ensure healthy and safe living environments. Through this program we foster and sustain vibrant neighborhoods, one home at a time.