GREATER CLEVELAND HABITAT FOR HUMANITY KICKS OFF MONTH-LONG COMMUNITY TOOL DRIVE
Donated items will be used to help eliminate poverty housing 

On  June 5, 2009, Mayor Frank Jackson, County Commissioner Peter Lawson Jones, County Treasurer Jim Rokakis, County Solid Waste District Director Diane Bickett and other business, community and civic leaders will join representatives from Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity to kick off the organization’s first ever Tool Drive. The countywide Tool Drive, running through Sunday, June 28, asks residents, organizations and businesses to donate new and used tools, as well as cabinets and other building materials to Habitat for Humanity. The donated items will be sold at the organization’s ReStore, a recycled building materials store located at 2110 W. 110th Street in Cleveland. Proceeds from ReStore sales will be used to help Habitat build and rehab homes for those in need. 
 
Supporters will also be able to make monetary donations to Habitat “at the cash register” at Do-it Best Hardware Stores and Phoenix Coffee shops throughout the Greater Cleveland area.

The Tool Drive encourages participants to look through basements, garages, workbenches, warehouses, storage lockers and tool kits and then donate duplicates or items they haven’t used in years. This is an excellent way to put a deceased loved one’s tool set back into good hands, for the benefit of the community. It’s also a great way for businesses and organizations to eliminate unnecessary storage expenses, floor stock and overhead.  

One of the area’s largest recyclers, ReStore will also accept remodeling materials such as kitchen and bathroom cabinets, windows, doors, light fixtures, lumber and appliances. Residents remodeling their homes should request that their contractors donate salvaged materials to the ReStore as a routine part of demolition.  Contractors should never again pay to dump viable materials that could be put to good use.
 
Churches, organizations and businesses are encouraged to hold individual Tool Drives, collect materials and then arrange for a drop-off time at the ReStore. Small Tools can also be dropped off at the 14 area Do-It-Best locations. Those donating very large items, such as cabinets, sinks, furniture and appliances, who do not have the ability to deliver these items themselves, can call the ReStore to schedule a pick up.  Habitat is also seeking volunteers to help with pick-ups and to work in the ReStore on a regular basis.
 
Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit charitable organization that offers qualified families, with demonstrated need, willingness to partner, and the ability to pay a zero-interest loan, an opportunity to build and buy a home. Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity brings urban and suburban communities together to “eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action”.  As an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity is part of a worldwide powerhouse building in 3,000 locations across 100 countries. For more information visit, www.clevelandhabitat.org