After a few years of hard work to set up shop, the St. Albert Tool Library is finally ready for its grand opening.
The moment comes with much jubilation for main organizer Bridget Reschke, who toiled to establish the seacan office in the parking lot of the Grace Family Church, renovate the space and fill it with hand and power tools. “The day is here,” her internet announcement reads. The only ingredient left to add amid all the hammers and screwdrivers: St. Albertans.
“We just need to encourage people that we're here in this city and we want to be used because we do have some pretty awesome tools,” Reschke said, proud to boast that the library now has more than 300 tools in its borrowing collection, some of which are brand new while others are secondhand but in “really nice” condition.
“We've actually had quite a few people from the community drop off some things, so that's good. One guy gave us his whole garage. He was a carpenter. He gave us a drill press, router, router bits, a jointer, table saw ... I'm like, ‘you can have a lifetime membership’. He probably gave us six grand in tools.”
The organization is setting up to host its coming out party event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sat., June 1. There will be a barbecue on site with activities planned including tours and a kids zone where the kids can try out a few hand tools.
Reschke is also organizing a fundraising rummage sale to coincide with the grand opening. Anyone can sign up for a spot for $10 ($15 if you need a table). In addition to that feature, she’s also doing a Value Village FunDrive collection so people can make donations of clothing and household items directly.
“People, when they come, they can bring like a couple bags of clothing from their house. We can hopefully get a couple truckloads of stuff. We can also do some fundraising there.”
That will run from 11 a.m. till 6 p.m. that day. Reschke added that rummage sale participants could also donate any of their leftovers so that they don’t have to haul any unwanted items back home.
Proceeds from the FunDrive will go towards the Tool Library’s operating costs. To secure your table rental call 587-805-2221 or send an email to [email protected].
The organization’s regular memberships are now $20 per month or $50 per year, while seniors pay $30. More details can be found at www.satls.org. The library is also lining up future Fix It Cafés including a public event at Red Willow Place on Thurs., July 4. People can register in advance to bring in their broken stuff and have the organization’s volunteers fix them for free. Reschke said that she hopes to sign up more volunteers for these events as well as to welcome members and visitors to the library during its regular operating hours.
“Yeah, we need more. We need more people.”
The St. Albert Tool Library is located at 60 Liberton Dr.
