BUFFALO, N.Y. — Darren Cotton grew up in the small town of Colden and admittedly didn't have a lot of experience with tools.
"So I probably am the last person that should have started a tool library," he said.
But that's exactly what Cotton did in 2011 when he was getting his master's degree in urban planning from the University at Buffalo. He was living in a low-cost apartment with an absentee landlord and found it a struggle to fix it up on a limited income with no tools. He saw others were facing the same problem and decided to take action.
"How do we transform this vacant lot into a community garden? Or how do we bring shade to a street that has no trees? Or how do we help a neighbor who has limited income fix up their home? That really is the beautiful thing is that it was just an idea, and it was this very small, grassroots neighborhood led thing that has just really grown and prospered because so many people have believed in what we do here," said Cotton.
Starting with just three rakes and a few volunteers, the library now has over 5,000 items and 1,800 active members. For just $30 a year, members can borrow up to five tools at a time- anything from small hand tools and garden equipment to tents, cement mixers and air filters.
But Darren's vision is much larger than just the Tool Library. They host a monthly free pop-up fix it clinic for things like broken vacuums or lamps called the Dare to Repair Cafe. And they have Service Days every spring and fall to beautify Buffalo neighborhoods.
"We want to show that this is a community that cares, that we can take ownership over these spaces, and that we don't have to wait for anyone but ourselves to do these things," said Cotton.
Cotton says he feels grateful that his small grassroots idea is actually creating real change.
"I think, with everything going on nationally and internationally, and we think about climate change and all of these things happening, and it feels so overwhelming, and something like sharing tools with your neighbors, or like fixing a thing that your neighbor has, it's just like these small things that can mean a world of difference to people, and that can actually put us on a more sustainable, a more equitable pathway. And so it shows us that we all have a role to play in how we reimagine the world that we live in," said Cotton.
Visit The Tool Library's website here to learn more about becoming a member to borrow tools, to donate tools or your time as a volunteer, or contribute to the Tool Library's $1 million capital campaign to purchase and renovate its building at 2626 Main Street.
To see other stories featured in the Selfless Among Us series, click the stories below.
