Grab that old toaster that’s lacking heat or wristwatch that has you constantly running late and pay a visit to the handy team of skilled repair volunteers at the Repair Café on Saturday, September 27th from 10 am to 2 pm at the Newburyport Community Senior Center. The last repairs for the day start at 1:30 pm in order to ensure that repairs are finished before the event ends. This pop-up event offers a wide variety of simplistic repair services for customer’s in need of assistance. Overall the Repair Cafe helps repair many different types of broken treasurers but it is important to note that the type of items eligible for repair change at each Repair Cafe depending upon availability of specific repairers.
Repair Café is a free service, matching up volunteer repairers with those in need of a service to troubleshoot the problem together. Although repairs are typically free for most items, in some instances there may be a charge to cover the cost of parts necessary to fix an item. Repairers attempt to keep each repair to a maximum of 20 minutes in order to have a positive impact for as many individuals as possible. Visitors can bring up to three small, clean items and watch as they are being repaired.
The following is a list of the types of repairs that will be available at the September 27th Repair Cafe: knit and woven items, clock repairs, lamp repairs, textile repairs, stuffed animal repairs, small appliances and wooden items. There will also be a canning demonstration where Repair Cafe attendees are invited to watch and learn how to cane a chair. Here is a full list of repair stations being offered at the upcoming event.
Organized by The Time Trade Network of Newburyport and Toward Zero Waste Newburyport, this will be the fourth Repair Café held in Newburyport. Over 250 Visitors with more than 350 items visited the Cafés last year.
With the slogan “Don’t ditch it, fix it,” organizers and participants donate their time in an effort to reduce the volume of materials waste, contributing to Newburyport’s zero waste goal. Repairers encourage visitors to watch and ask questions so they can not only take home a working end product but also take home some knowledge of how to fix something similar on their own.
It’s important to note that Repair Café does not offer any guarantees that they can fix your item nor are they held responsible if an item has any additional damage or stops working at home. Whether you come in for jewelry repairs or electronics repairs, if the problem turns out to be more complicated then a short session with a volunteer, Repair Café can refer you out to a specialist for more complicated or time-consuming repairs.
Think you have a skill to share? Whether you’re a tinker, bike expert, computer pro, or master seamstress—Repair Café can use your help! Email RepairCafeNBPT@gmail.com or call 978-225-3440 to sign up and donate your time.
If you’re in need of repairs but can’t make this Repair Café, follow their official facebook page to stay up to date on the next event.
