Photographs #1-3, #5-6 by Lon Appleby
Photograph #4 (two young girls with microscope) by Heather Rampsay
Photograph #7 (“Repair Café”) by Anne Winter
Repair Café is going strong at its two-year mark. On Saturday, May 23, we were back at Skills for Change for our second anniversary event. In addition to our regular Repair Café, we had a special art show given by artist Anne Winter and a BBQ celebration in the afternoon with the volunteers, visitors, friends and guests. Thanks to everyone for making it another great event! A big thank-you to Skills for Change for providing a terrific venue. Joe Mihevc, City Councillor, and Annette Synowiec, Solid Waste Management Services, at the City of Toronto joined us as well. Thanks Joe and Annette for dropping by on this special day.
Not so long ago, a small group of volunteers came together to offer its first Repair Café at Skills for Change in Toronto. Twenty-two monthly cafes later, it was wonderful to see that our volunteer team has grown to more than 100, and so has the number of visitors. So what is the magic behind the success of the Repair Café? Here is a short video that was made last year in which a visitor, Gloria, captured this magic early on in her first experience with the Repair Café.
We would like to thank all our volunteers, including fixers, greeters, guides, bakers, photographers, videographers, communication specialists and event organizers. Through your commitment and enthusiasm in the last two years, you have made the Repair Café an inspiring and welcoming place. We would also like to thank all the visitors for joining the repair movement. As well, we would like to thank all our sponsors and partners, in particular, Frank’s Pizza House, Skills for Change and Toronto Public Library for your continued support!
Repair Café is looking for volunteers and sponsors to join us grow the Repair Café initiative. If you are interested in getting involved, please feel free to contact us at info@repaircafetoronto.ca.
In the coming months, Repair Café will continue to reach out to the different neighbourhoods. For the upcoming café on June 20, we will be in Rexdale at Elmbank Community Centre from 12 to 4 pm. You can find out more details in the Upcoming Events page. Please help us spread the word. Hope to see you there!