Do you have items that you have been meaning to fix, but don’t know how? The Cumberland Repair Café is here to help.
Cumberland Community Schools Society (CCSS) is hosting a Repair Café at Cumberland Community School, Beaufort Gym on Saturday, April 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This community event provides an alternative for household items destined for the landfill to be repaired and reused for free.
“We are delighted to once again be partnering with the Comox Strathcona Waste Management to help in their goal of having biannual repair Ccafes in the Comox Valley,” says Kate Ashton, program co-ordinator for CCSS. “Over 50 items were repaired at our event last year and our goal is to double that this year.”
Lindsay Eason and Tina Willard-Stepan, educators for Comox Strathcona Waste Management, are excited to support this community initiative, which tackles waste diversion through public education.
“Repairing items is an essential part of keeping products in use, rather than immediately recycling them or throwing them out when something goes wrong,” said Eason. “Learning how to repair your own stuff can build lifelong skills that save money and reduce waste.”
Lake Trail Community Education Society held its second Repair Cafe this fall and doubled the number of repaired items compared to the year before.
“There is a growing awareness of Repair Cafes in the Comox Valley, which means residents are deciding to hold on to their broken items and bring them to Repair Cafes to be fixed, instead of throwing them away,” said Willard-Stepan.
The Cumberland Repair Café is currently looking for volunteers for this event. If you have expertise in fixing items such as jewelry, small appliances, toys, or electronics, please email coordinator@ccssociety.org to sign up as a volunteer.
CCSS is a registered charity that works to strengthen our community by improving access to healthy food, recreation, lifelong learning and a network of support. For more information on the Repair Cafe and other CCSS programs and events visit www.ccssociety.org