Stanley launches Build Your America Contest

Stanley Tools' Build Your America Contest isn't your average seasonal affair. Having opened May 15, the contest will be accepting submissions all the way through Dec. 31, 2014 to name an eventual winner in March of 2015.

The slow pace of the initiative matches the driving sentiment behind it: that through a slow and earnest effort, communities are built from the ground up using local resources and ingenuinty.

Build Your America, which puts the spotlight on American-made hand tools, will ultimately award $10,000 to a charitable organization, non-profit or local government agency with a good idea for a neighborhood improvement project. Stanley will also donate tools in support of the project.

“This year alone Stanley Tools is introducing hundreds of new tools, some the world has never seen before,” said Jon Michael Adinolfi, construction and DIY president of Hand Tools & Storage. “We are building millions of tools in the United States with global materials. America is the place where we founded Stanley in 1843, and ever since we have built our company on the American values of reliability, quality, and innovation. We are continuing that tradition as we design, innovate, and manufacture tools hardworking people all over the world count on day in, day out.”

Five finalists will be selected next January, with a Grand Prize winner determined in Februray and announced in March. By next spring or sumnmer, the community project will be underway.

Entrants can visit the Build Your America website to submit a brief essay summarizing their proposed projects. They can also enter the contest by scanning a QR code at some retail locations where Stanley tools are sold.

Stanley is also partnering with Minor League Baseball to sponsor "Stanley Build Your America Nights" at games with the New Britain Rock Cats, Charlotte Knights, and the Kane County Cougars. The games will feature Stanley tool giveaways and more.