Repair Café continues to grow


…spreading the spirit of good neighbours

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The Repair Café returned on August 10 for the third monthly gathering since the launch in May and it turned out to be the busiest one so far. Many visitors came to us through word of mouth as well as media coverage in the Toronto Star and NOW magazine.

The first visitor had already arrived 20 minutes before opening time bringing an electric kettle. Other items followed: laptops, lamps, vacuum cleaners, clock radios, blenders, record player, toaster, breadmaker, hot water pot, prevent-dog barker, bike, suitcase, coat, etc.

A lineup soon began which continued until the end. While the fixers were helping one visitor after the other, a few visitors rolled up their sleeves and lent their hands to the fixers who barely had time for a break. These visitors turned out to be wonderful handy assistants. Two of them have offered to come back to support the fixers on their repair work for the next repair Café!

Among the fixers, some were returning volunteers. Others included two friends, who came together and worked as a team on fixing computers. Another new volunteer brought her sewing machine and worked tirelessly throughout the Café. Her husband came with her and gave her his support for the full day. Yet another new volunteer heard about our Café just a few days before the event and showed up with his 3D printer early that morning. As well, a returning visitor brought her friend to get help. And before they left, both of them cheerfully signed up to volunteer for the next event.

While the fixers were helping the visitors learn how to repair their own items, other volunteers were greeting visitors at Registration, directing the flow of traffic, running down to stores nearby to get repair supply, and so on. This Café was another success mainly because of the great efforts and energy coming from the volunteers. Their enthusiasm and generosity were contagious.

We were honored to have a couple of special visitors from one of the Repair Cafés in Netherlands where the very first Repair Café started. Alie and Bert, volunteers of Repair Cafe Vlaardingen, came with their family from Richmond Hill. They had a tour at the Café and shared with us their experiences on their own Repair Café.

We are grateful to our donors, including Skills for Change, Noir Coffee & Tea and Frank’s Pizza House for their wonderful support.

If you need help fixing a broken item, don’t miss our next Café on September 14 ! We will be joining the 100th anniversary of the St Clair Streetcar and Wychwood Car House at Wychwood Barns. For details, you can visit the Upcoming Events page.

If you want to join us as a volunteer or give us any kinds of support, please email us at info@repaircafetoronto.ca.

If you would like to receive news about our upcoming events,  just sign up for our mailing list. We are also on Facebook.

Hope to see you at the next Repair Cafe!