Toolboxes For Kids

About Working

When you know how to use a tool in different ways then you can do good work for others your entire life. You should keep your tools clean so that they will be ready when that opportunity arises.

The tools that are given to you should be shared with other people when they need them, and then also given away when you are older.

Donate And Share With Others

Donate a legacy of sturdy hand tools to others who will use them and I will teach them how to take good care of it. I encourage you to pass on the tools of your family rather than having them lay idle. All tools and toolbox materials are provided free of charge to kids.

I myself prefer to give the older solid tools since these are the ones that can be used an entire lifetime. It does not matter if the item is in poor condition or rusted since I refurbish it for them, your tool will look wonderfully clean and classic when I put it in their hand. I teach the kids how to care for it with oil and cloth and patience.

I tend to focus on the classic hand tools because they are safer for young people, even though I buy tools of all kinds at garage sales and estate sales. Every tool is given based on the appropriate age, for example kids under the age of 10 are not given items with sharp blades, etc. The more complex tools are really only given to kids who are 15+. We do not need power tools in general and I do not refurbish those, however I can give ones in good condition away to kids 18-20.

I can guarantee that any tool or materials you donate will be given away to a young person. Personally I have plenty of tools and do not need any more of the kind the kids use. Please be aware that some of the donated tools are used in my shop while I refurbish them, and also when we are working on the toolboxes together, so I can make sure that tool fits the their personal style.

I am strict about the privacy of the kids and do not share their names or pictures on the Internet. If you donate materials to a specific project I can ask that family if they would like you to have a picture of them.

I am also always glad to tell a child your story about the person who cared for a tool ahead of them, since I believe strongly in passing on the legacy of interesting people who worked with their creative minds and diligent hands.

I do not accept cash donations at this time because this is not a business. If you would like to share with us by funding through your favorite local store then I am happy to stop there the next time I am visiting in your city. I am glad to shop at both mom-and-pop hardware stores and also big lumber yards. The toolboxes certainly require a lot of plywood, piano hinges, brass handles and latches, angle iron/aluminum, steel screws, wood stain, wood oil, and paint brushes.

Thank You Donors

I don't publish the identities of donors, in the interest of privacy, and also so that people focus on the kids rather than their own egos. Yet I am certainly very thankful for the recent donors who demonstrated the truth that compassion is a gift:

Thank you Phyllis of Montgomery Village who has a caring heart for sharing supplies from her collection. [December 2013]

Thank you Bob of Rincon Valley who donates time and energy to refurbish hands tools that a kid can be proud of. [October 2013]

Thank you Gary of Santa Rosa who sought me out to donate the remaining 46 hand tools from his parents estate. [August 2013]

Thank you Mike of Rohnert Park who was glad to donate a bucket full of 31 hand tools at his moving sale when he was satisfied that they actually were for kids, not for the buyer who had money visible in hand. [August 2013]

Thank you Don of Bennett Valley who was having a yard sale where there was really only one power tool for sale, but upon hearing about this activity he went inside the garage and dug through his own personal toolbox with great gusto, then thrust in my arms 8 hand tools including 2 quality hand planes and a Yankee screwdriver. [August 2013]

Thank you to the daughter at a Santa Rosa estate sale who didn't even consider taking a few dollars but gladly gave over a brand new maple mitre box and a handful of other items. [July 2013]

Thank you to a random couple at an estate sale standing next to me who insisted on covering the balance when I was a few bucks short; because they were glad to support kids learning to use tools. [April 2013]

Thank you Neil of Annadel who donated EVERYTHING that was left in his family shop after the moving sale when his father went into a retirement home, almost 200 tools of all kinds. He said carte blanche, "take absolutely anything in there" and as a result we also obtained (beyond the usual fare) quite a few hinges, screws, clean rags, sandpaper. Even some specialty jigs that some day an older kid will learn from when they follow up and delve deeper into woodworking. [March 2013]

Thank you Don of Santa Rosa who has his own retirement hobby of selling (wonderfully) refurbished hand tools, but was more than happy to donate 32 items out of his collection which he had already put time into. [February 2013]