How to Start a Repair Café


How to Start a Repair Café

Below are a few resources to help you through your start-up phase. Scroll down to check them out.

  1. Outreach Tips (a guide or checklist) – Make your Repair event rock!
  2. Basic Supplies List (an outline of what’s most useful to have on hand)
  3. Volunteer Descriptions Pamphlet
  4. Steps to Starting a Repair Café – 2014 Workshop Powerpoint
  5. Detailed Steps & Questions to Consider when starting a Repair Café (developed by Pittsfield MA Repair Café)

Outreach Tips for Repair Café Hosts

In addition to putting social media to work, ‘old-fashioned’, tried and true outreach strategies are key to bringing visitors (and new, local volunteers) to a first-time Repair Café. Proactive, face-to-face, enthusiastic communication will produce the results you’re looking for!

This might include a combination of the following:

  • connecting with local individuals and groups that are active in the community and who would be willing to share both information about the upcoming event and their personal enthusiasm through their networks. For example:
    • City Councillors, MPPs and MPs (themselves and their constituency office staff)
    • local library branches (including Youth Advisory Groups)
    • local community service organizations (community health centres, newcomer support, food agencies, inter-agency roundtables…)
    • faith-based groups
    • schools and school groups
    • social housing, environment, arts and culture groups
    • resident and tenant groups, housing co-operatives
    • City staff at work in the community (e.g. Community Development Officers in Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, Parks and Recreation, City Planning, Solid Waste, Public Health, Economic Development, Services with seniors, youth, children, persons with disabilities…)
    • Seniors’ social and recreational centres, Youth groups and networks (community and private)
    • local media such as newspapers and radio stations
    • local businesses
  • asking them to share flyers through their newsletters as well as their social media and to physically post flyers where both their staff and clients/customers will see them
  • inviting them to attend and/or support the event in any way, shape, form – e.g. promote, volunteer (as fixers or general support), donate refreshments, space. Consider a related activity or theme to tie in, e.g. kids art activity with found objects, community clean-up, “stuffy hospital” (repair of stuffed animals), workshop on bike repair or a demonstration of some special repair skill a member of the community might have… Note that the Repair Café is an excellent place for youth to get Community Involvement hours.
  • door-to-door flyer drop-off and posting on any community boards (where available at grocery stores, coffee shops, laundromats, hardware stores, transit stops, sidewalk notice boards, etc.)
  • presenting the upcoming event at meetings of any community groups and cross-organization tables (e.g. Ward environmental group, school committees, seniors’ recreational gatherings, etc.)
  • tabling at community events such as Environment Days, Farmers Markets, Flea Markets, Festivals, etc.

Basic Supplies List

Volunteer Descriptions Pamphlet

Steps to Starting a Repair Café – 2014 Workshop Powerpoint

Repair Café Toronto delivered a workshop in October 2014 to share our experience on starting a Repair Café. Below is our PowerPoint presentation.

Detailed Steps and Questions to Consider

The co-founder of Pittsfield [MA] Repair Café Janet Henderson has put together the following handouts: