Free access to tools doubled in Kansas City, Kansas, to spur revitalization.
Perhaps
the tools possess a magical quality. Or maybe it’s just the organizations that
are using them. The tools not only physically repair doors, they literally open
them. A rare gift that keeps on giving is just what the Urban Insurance Partners Institute (UIPI) had in mind when the organization helped start a tool lending library in Kansas City, Kansas. The inventory has been doubled by the institute, to multiply the number of projects that can be accomplished.
“Access to tools becomes a method for people to help one another,” points out Jack Clanton, vice president and general manager of Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. (Kansas), a member of UIPI. “These kinds of contributions provide resources that continue to have an impact over and over again.”
Ladders, brushes, scrapers and other supplies have been donated for the second year in a row by the institute to Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of KCK, which administers the free program. The tools are beginning to have a far-reaching effect.
“The
tools add a grassroots kind of dynamic that is really just developing,” extols
Joel Wakham, executive director at NHS of KCK, a partner organization of UIPI.
“The tools have given us reason to talk to churches and groups here in this
neighborhood with something to offer. That is a very strong type of thing to
be able to say we are a willing partner.”
The tools were used during a June weeklong project to refurbish 13 homes in
the Chelsea and Prescott neighborhoods. The supplies have also benefited many
other efforts, including the Greater Emmanuel Baptist Church’s renovation of
homes for low-income parishioners.“It’s a great idea, especially for a neighborhood like ours,” comments Dedric Moore, a resident and NHS board member. “Since it’s lower-income, people are always talking about ‘I’m going to work on my house when I get some money.’ It really helps the motivation of the people to make improvements on their homes.”
Volunteers from insurance companies that are members of the institute assisted in the work on the Prescott and Chelsea neighborhoods.
“It’s really neat, because when I was ages 4 to 16, I lived in the neighborhood,” says Garry Dial, insurance and financial services district manager of Farmers Insurance Group, an institute member company and an NHS board member. “It has been very rewarding personally, community-wise and professionally, since our primary goal is to help people.” Farmers Insurance Group and Dial donated funds to purchase supplies for the project.
Another aspect of the institute’s partnership with the Kansas City agency is providing insurance education to urban residents. Farmers Insurance Group is leading the homeowners insurance segment of the agency’s First Time Home Buyers class. Participants learn the basics of homeowners insurance and receive a smoke detector from the institute to protect their homes and families.
“When people go in to close their home loans, they walk in informed, knowing that they need insurance immediately and they have the option to preselect insurance,” elaborates Wakham. “I think that’s an important item.”
In addition to Kansas City, the institute has assisted tool banks in two other cities and plans to expand the initiative to other locations in the future.