“It is so awesome. I can’t believe something like this exists! The first two times I went by myself but now my wife always wants to come too. She’s used the little sander for the walls and is doing all kinds of things. I was kind of scared at first to use the chainsaw because it is so much more powerful than it looks on YouTube but then I borrowed the little one and got comfortable and we use things all the time. Sometimes we just stop by when we’re in the area to check out what’s new and get tips from Nick. Everybody who works there is way too nice and it was so good that you have the young kids working there in the summer learning how to do things. I want to recommend it to my friends but I’m afraid they’ll take out all the things I want to borrow! I give it *****!” -Marvic
“The Tool Shed is great! We’ve already saved $450 in just our first three weeks of membership! I was moaning over the cost of a plumbing tool at Home Depot one day when another customer told me to call Nick at the Tool Shed. I was able to borrow a shark bite pex pincher and saved $150 just for that one tool! We use our membership for our business too. We opened a community theater, The Playhouse on Park, recently and sanded all the chairs in the house with the sanders from the Tool Shed.” – Keith More, The Playhouse on Park
“I love the Tool Shed! I keep telling everyone about it. I’ve been doing all kind of renovations to my house, and we’ve used some stuff for work outside too. I can’t wait for you to hold woodworking classes so I can get better at cutting angles and basic carpentry. I’m a new homeowner and the Tool Shed has been a life (and money) saver! I’m training to become an electrician so the Tool Shed will be handy for that too!” – Divonte
“SEAC’s Tool Shed is fantastic! When Covid hit and we were stuck at home, we started doing all sorts of projects like building a shed and painting. It’s too bad the Tool Shed wasn’t around during the main shut down but now we’ve got momentum and we just finished the kitchen backsplash today! I’ll tell you that water saw was so amazing! It didn’t crack the tiles when we cut them, and we used the grout mixer this week to finish up. We cut new baseboards with Tool Shed loans and sanded all the floors. My parents bought this house in 1983 and I grew up here and hasn’t looked this good in years! The Tool Shed is making it possible to do all the things we’ve been talking about for years because we can do so much of it ourselves!” -Helen and Siobhan
“Thanks to our membership with The Tool Shed, Nativity Preparatory Academy of Rochester’s students participated in a service project with other community members, teachers, and volunteers to clean up the South Wedge neighborhood on June 8,2022. The tools from the program made it possible for us to participate and give our students a chance to serve the community in a positive way. This aligns with Nativity’s core values of Respect, Responsibility, Gratitude, Spirituality and Scholarship, that we reinforce with students in our middle school program each year. Thank you for having this valuable resource in the community!” – James C. Smith, Principal
“We just moved to Rochester and bought a house in the city. The Tool Shed has saved us a fortune! We couldn’t even afford a ladder after we moved in! There have been lots and lots of surprises, especially since we had to close without an inspection. The Tool Shed has made it possible for us to start fixing things up ourselves since we couldn’t afford to buy tools or hire out a lot of contractors. We put in a laundry room and laid a bathroom floor. The huge inventory at the Tool Shed lets us try out different tools to see which brands and kinds we like best for when we do go to make a purchase in the future. For example, now I know that the DeWalt is my favorite orbital sander. We can figure out which tools we actually need to own versus the ones we just want to borrow. There are so many “one and done projects” like our wood panel access door that it just doesn’t make sense to buy the tool for. I’ll only ever need it once and, if I do need it again, I know just where to find it! And it is so conveniently located. Where else can you get bush trimmers, reciprocating saws, a jackhammer and clamps in one place for just $25 a year?! We are getting all kinds of hands-on experience too! It’s been totally empowering for both of us!” -Charlie and Deb
“We borrowed sanders and power saws to help my sister-in-law to replace all her flooring. We didn’t have to pay to rent anything and didn’t have to pay to have someone come in to use it! It saved us a ton of money and it brought the whole family together to get the project done.” -Katherine Bauroth
“Volunteering at SEAC’s Tool Shed has been a great way for me to transition to retirement. My experience in the construction industry comes in handy, whether it is in working with the tools themselves or interacting with the members. I can volunteer as much or as little as I want and feel like I’m making a real, visible impact on our community. I’ve been around tools my whole life, so it’s a great fit. The atmosphere is relaxed and positive. I really enjoy it and see how much it means to our members.” -Pete Whelehan