Volunteers
The vast majority of the service delivery at ETL is done by our volunteers. They are our superstar Tooligans who run tool lending sessions, deliver open workshops, and put in many hours on volunteer builds and community engagement. Our volunteers donate 75 hours in a typical week, and when you add together all the volunteer builds and one-off events, ETL volunteers donate over 4,000 hours a year to helping our members and the community.
Staff & Freelancers
Upcoming! TEACHERS (freelance) – We will be, throughout the year, looking to increase our pool of freelance teachers. If you’re an experienced maker or DIYer, passionate about teaching basic and useful skills to empower individuals, neighbourhoods and communities, watch this space. You can also email jobs@edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk with the subject line “TEACHING” and we’ll make sure to share with you details of opportunities opening up.
The Board of Trustees
Our board is made up of people with shared enthusiasm and excitement for the Tool Library. We have worked hard to ensure it is diverse and representative of the communities we work with. Our board members have skills, experience, and backgrounds in trade unions, finance, youth employment, charity funding, employability, education, sociology and environmentalism.
New Board Member Announcments Coming Soon!
Paul Makin
Chariperson
I have been a volunteer at the Tool Library for 18 months now and really enjoy the whole community feel, the purpose and people are fantastic. I am a keen DIYer and enjoy helping members with their projects where I can. Recently it was great to be able to use one of our workshops to make a life size wooden dog for my young granddaughter.
I have recently retired and hope my skills from leadership roles in international business will help the Tool library. I am particularly interested in supporting the team with strategic planning, tactical delivery, empowering techniques and having fun.
Tim Graham
Treasurer
I came to Edinburgh for university and simply never left. I have a background in hospitality management, being actively involved in various Edinburgh Fringe bars and venues before moving into the world of Finance. When I’m not reading through Financial Statements, you’ll most likely find me at a pub quiz or doing foodie things around Edinburgh.
I have been an ETL member for around 3 years now, joining during COVID to start working on the garden and more latterly hiring tools to help with general DIY. Having started with limited knowledge, the library enabled me to gain confidence to undertake various tasks I didn’t think I would ever have tackled.
With the opportunity to join as a Trustee, I knew that I wanted to get involved to ensure that this fantastic organisation continued to prosper. Being at the center of the sharing and circular economy movement is incredibly important as this ties into my view of a sustainable future.
Chris Hellawell
Trustee
I started ETL in 2015 after visiting similar projects in Canada and being frustrated that such a thing didn’t exist in the UK. I could see the potential of marrying an environmental angle with one that promotes positive social values and wanted to be part of something that made a lasting difference in my community.
My educational background is in environmental science and forestry, and professionally, I have worked in the third sector for the last decade, so the Tool Library has been a great way to use my knowledge and my passion to promote sharing as a way of social mobility as well as reducing environmental impact.
Since beginning the tool library, my interest in social enterprise has grown, and I was delighted to be asked to join the board of Firstport (Scotland’s largest provider of business support and funding to social enterprise) in 2018, and its sister company First Impact in 2019.
John Wallace
Trustee
I became a trustee on the board of the ETL at the 2020 AGM taking on the role of Treasurer. I found the ETL looking to borrow a tool for a home project. Having lived in flats since my student days I had neither the space or money to buy a shed full of tools. However, having become a member, I realised there was much more to the tool library than borrowing tools.
The focus on sustainability and community was really interesting. When I saw the advert for the Treasurer role I wanted to get involved, using my finance skills to help the library, to know new people and learn more about the ETL. I live in Edinburgh and currently work as an accountant for NatWest Group. I have been a member of the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra since 2009 and served on its board between 2015 and 2021 in different roles.
Elections
The board of trustees is elected each year at the Awesome General Meeting (AGM). We are always looking for new members who have experience in finance or legal matters, and can help with our plans for funding. Our board sits regularly and works to secure the long-term future of the Tool Library. If you are interested in joining our board, please get in touch.
Open archive
You can read minutes of board meetings, AGMs and policy documents on our archive page.
The Edinburgh Tool Library is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) registered as a charity by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) with charity number SC045162.
