Repair Cafés are a FREE community movement in the Hudson Valley where residents bring their beloved but broken items, and together with volunteer Repair Coaches, they fix them! One of the great reasons to live in the Hudson Valley is being part of our communities where people work together and care about each other.
The Repair Cafe goal is to reduce how much stuff goes into the waste stream, to preserve and pass on traditional repair know-how, and to foster community, sustainability, and resilience. The Repair Café idea was born in Amsterdam in 2009 and was brought to New Paltz by volunteer organizer John Wackman in 2013. His dedication, enthusiasm, and success inspired others to launch Repair Cafe events in their communities.
Repair Cafes are currently conducted in New Paltz, Gardiner, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck, Rosendale, and Warwick.
This Saturday, January 28, there are Repair Cafes being held in Poughkeepsie from 9:00am – 12:00pm at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church at 325 Mill St., and in Kingston from 11:00am – 3:00pm at the Clinton Avenue United Methodist Church at 122 Clinton Ave.
What will you find if you go? Repair coaches with significant skills in a wide range of categories, including mechanical, electrical and electronic, clothing and textiles (seamstressing by both hand and machine), jewelry, things made of wood, dolls and stuffed animals and digital repairs. On the café side, people will find coffee and tea for free; and bakery treats and fruit for sale.
For the full 2017 calendar of events, visit www.repaircafehv.org. For questions, more information or to ask about being a repair coach, call John Wackman at 646-302-5835 or e-mail: [email protected].
