Contributing Author: Ainsley MacDougal | ToolBank USA Summer Intern
Redefining Corporate Volunteerism: How Nonprofits and Companies Are Changing the Scripts
Corporate volunteer programs are undergoing a transformation. Gone are the days when volunteering meant getting up early on your day off to volunteer at a non-profit.
Today, companies are actively collaborating with nonprofits to create meaningful volunteer opportunities during regular work hours at work- benefiting employees, organizations, and the communities they serve.
If you build it, we’ll come
The recent ToolBank project in Dallas involved UPS volunteers assembling benches and picnic tables. Instead of asking volunteers to show up at a sight away from work, ToolBank brought the project to UPS, and UPS funded the project. It’s ingenious and a win-win for non-profits and companies.
EARTH DAY & OUR AWESOME VOLUNTEERS…
Across the ToolBank network, volunteers pitched in to celebrate Earth Day in the best way by taking care of our planet.
Volunteers engaged in multiple beach cleanups using ToolBank shovels, buckets, and sleds off the coast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Clean coastlines mean protected habitats for native species like turtles; check out one of the clean-ups here.
St. Charles Ave. Presbyterian Church and Xavier University’s Office of Sustainability cleaned up planting beds and replanted courtyards in New Orleans. These are some natural beautifications in time for Earth Day!
Disaster Services on the Rise: Those affected by natural disasters’ devastation experience physical and emotional stresses. ToolBank does its best to lessen the blow by providing equipment and tools to rebuild at no cost. Luckily, there are great groups across the nation that provide physical labor after a natural disaster, and we take pride in supplying the items they need for action.
ToolBank has increased its presence in the Disaster Services space with 8 locations, 4 of which are Hubs aligned with our six defined FEMA territories. TDS Hubs will enable our team to respond faster and more efficiently when a disaster strikes anywhere in the United States. We are chipping away at our big goals!
In Sacramento, volunteers came together to organize and set up our Sacramento ToolBank Disaster Services warehouse. And in Colorado, we’re launching a new ToolBank Disaster Services Rocky Mountain Hub. If you’re in the Denver area, we need pallet rack donations. If that’s something you could help us with, contact our Territory Manager, Lynsey Georgen, at lynsey.georgen@toolbank.org.
Check out what’s going on at each of our ToolBanks across the nation. Scroll down to each affiliate and expand the text block to read more about your favorite ToolBank team. All of our affiliates are doing amazing work and we can’t wait to share their updates with you monthly.
Make sure and scroll through the images to the right of our affiliate updates. Most of the updates come with a couple of images related to their article.
Atlanta ToolBank Update:
Baltimore ToolBank Update:
Earth Day Garden Groundwork: In early April, Baltimore Sisterhood of Towson volunteers helped Baltimore ToolBank get our rain gardens in shape for the Spring and Summer seasons. They pruned and weeded tirelessly, leaving native plants a better place to grow.
Rain gardens create symbiotic relationships within bio-habitats by rerouting rainfall. Learn about Baltimore ToolBank’s special power rain gardens on our site.
“Supporting the Supporters” in a Challenging Time: On March 26th, a cargo ship collided with the Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse. Baltimore citizens have banded together after this tragic accident, uplifting and supporting those who lost loved ones. The Baltimore ToolBank is ongoingly assisting organizations during this recovery phase. Any organization working in acute or long-term cleanup and recovery efforts has access to our inventory at no cost. We can also receive shipments and grant temporary, limited storage for organizations helping in the recovery.
Chair or Chainsaw – Have you chosen your team?:
Throughout 2024, Baltimore ToolBank will host events and campaigns under the headings of Team Chainsaw or Team Chair. Be on the lookout for ways to support your chosen team.
Charlotte ToolBank Update:
A Student-Designed Playground: What kid doesn’t want to create their own playground? Charlotte ToolBank and United Way of Greater Charlotte made Westerly Hills Elementary students’ dreams a reality. Over 250 volunteers showed up and showed out on April 19th to turn the school’s open field into a playground conceptualized by the very students at Westerly Hills—an invigorating warm-up with Sgt. Roy helped us complete the build in just one day.
Shoutout to Thomas and Maureen: It’s been 365 days since Thomas joined Charlotte Toolbank. Since he started, we’ve rented out 52,485 tools and special event items! We couldn’t have done it without him. It’s also our executive director Maureen’s 9th anniversary at the Charlotte ToolBank. We are eternally grateful for them both! Check out 13 years of stories from the Charlotte ToolBank! Use the buttons to the right to navigate to Charlotte ToolBank’s dedicated 13 Years of Service website.
Cincinnati ToolBank Update:
Giving Back: Cincinnati ToolBank celebrated volunteer week this month. We were lucky to have Baker build two picnic tables that were donated to a Cincinnati Public School.
April brought a total of 3,273 volunteers. We couldn’t do our work without you. Also, in April, the retail value of the tools Cincinnati ToolBank loaned was over $135,000. Imagine the projects that would have gone unfinished due to nonprofit budget restrictions. ToolBank USA rents out tools for pennies on the dollar!
Cincy ToolBank Helped Rock the Block: On April 20th, Cincinnati ToolBank provided tools for Habitat for Humanity’s Rock the Block in Covington, KY. Thank you to Bishop Brossart High School and other volunteers who helped us prep the tools we needed to lend.
In case you haven’t heard of Rock the Block, it’s an awesome one-day volunteer event that supports the beautification of communities. Projects include exterior home repairs, trash removal, landscaping, park maintenance, painting, and more!
Check out Habitat for Humanity’s Rock the Block.
Houston ToolBank Update:
New Community Resiliency and Disaster Response Initiative Program: Houston ToolBank is proud to be one of the six nonprofit organizations partnering with Houston LISC and The Allstate Foundation for their new Community Resiliency and Disaster Response Initiative program. The program will help underserved members of the Houston community, and Houston ToolBank couldn’t be more on board with its mission. Learn More about Houston LISC’s initiative.
Houston ToolBank Supplies Volunteers: This month, we rented out some tools for Keep Houston Beautiful to revitalize Trinity Gardens Kaboom Park. South Houston Concerned Citizens Coalition borrowed tools this month, as well as Bank of America and built Galveston, among many others. We love to watch what you create!
Join the Houston ToolBank Team!: We’re hiring an Operations Coordinator. This person will be responsible for supporting the Warehouse and Outreach Director in completing a successful tool lending and delivery program.
If you or someone you know are interested in the position, or want to learn more, click here.
Mayor’s Volunteer Appreciation Awards: ToolBank’s very own Nancy Clippard received the community engagement award at the Volunteer Appreciation Awards. We’re not surprised given Nancy’s amazing work and are excited to see her get the recognition she deserves!
Phoenix ToolBank Update:
A Moment to Toot our Own Horn: Phoenix ToolBank is celebrating fulfilling the most orders of any ToolBank year-to-date, making us the busiest USA affiliate right now. We also added 21 new member agencies, a 90% increase from April of last year. What better way to celebrate our 9-year anniversary? Thanks to our volunteers and sponsors for helping us reach this milestone.
Forklift Makeover: The Home Depot Rental Department crew helped repair our forklift and other tools. Thanks to some other volunteers including Grainger, Charles Schwab, Financial Credit Union.
Richmond ToolBank
Community Bonding, Building, and Beer: Take part in Richmond ToolBank’s Hammers and Ales event on Saturday, June 8. Your team will choose to hand-build either a picnic table or a park bench. With registration, we provide all materials, tools, and expert guidance. Better yet, we donate every picnic table or park bench built by YOU to Henrico Public Schools & Capital Region Land Conservancy.
Hammers & Ales is a family-friendly outdoor celebration featuring music, local craft beverages, food trucks, tool-themed games, and even a splash pad! Come build for Richmond with us!
A Building Change Session Follow-Up: Every Building Change session results in a new hand-built piece for someone in the Richmond community. Three raised garden beds recently went to the Bird House Farmers Market’s community garden. They told Richmond ToolBank that they have started planting in the ADA-compliant garden beds and plan to turn them over to local seniors. The seniors can decide if they want to tend to the current plants, or plant new ones of their own choosing!
Want to see your own constructions in use throughout the community? Register with your friends or coworkers for a team build!
Constructing Lessons and Learning: Richmond ToolBank recently hosted Power Tools 101 and 201 classes. Students learned the basics of power tools used to tackle home repairs and maintenance tasks.
Check out other upcoming classes here.
Windy City ToolBank
