Green Ossining’s Repair Cafe will launch on Saturday, June 24 at the Joseph G. Caputo Community Center in partnership with the Village of Ossining. Repair Cafes offer the opportunity for community-sourced repair of broken items reducing contributions to the waste stream and building a sense of community through skill sharing.
“The idea of a Repair Café was born in the Netherlands nearly 10 years ago. The hope and vision is to transform our throwaway economy, one beloved item at a time, giving new life to treasured or needed items instead of adding them to the waste stream. Repair Cafés are now spreading around the world and are flourishing in many Hudson Valley communities. Repair coaches offer the opportunity to preserve repair know-how and skills, and to pass them along to others; community members get free advice and assistance fixing their broken but beloved items. Our curiosity as to ‘how things work’ is fed as we watch the various repair coaches at work and in turn, the coaches know they are valued for their skills and willingness to volunteer,” said Michele Stone, Green Ossining Repair Cafe Coordinator,
The Green Ossining Repair Cafe currently expects to have coaches on-hand to provide free assistance with repairing/advising on:
– Carpentry
– Electronics repair
– Computer repair
– Costume Jewelry
– Plants
– Sewing
– Toy repair
– Bike repair
Suzie Ross, Chairperson of Green Ossining noted, “Perhaps most of all this is an opportunity for all of us to build community and sustainability together while having a different kind of fun. Initially we plan to hold a Repair Café event one Saturday every other month to begin with and will reassess that frequency over time, looking to the support of the community as a barometer. Volunteers with vision and dedication can accomplish great things.”
The Green Ossining Repair Cafe will launch in the Recreation room of the Community Center from 11am to 3pm. Gasoline power tools cannot be used or repaired at the Cafe. Melrose Lumber has offered to provide lamp parts at cost and will be available at the Repair Café. To learn more about the Repair Café: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=gVjU1ydAUlQ
ABOUT GREEN OSSINING
Green Ossining, founded in 2009, is a community-based environmental resource organization with a mission to promote environmental sustainability community-wide, and develop practical methods that protect our natural resources. With a goal to create a forum for those in the community who are concerned about the environment our objectives are to explore, identify and prioritize sensible “green” methods and practices. www.greenossining.org
ABOUT THE REPAIR CAFE INTERNATIONAL
Repair Café Foundation, founded in 2010 and based in Amsterdam, aims to reintroduce the art of repairing to the modern, local communities; retain and spread repair knowledge and skills; promote social cohesion by bringing together neighbors from very different backgrounds and motives in a setting of inspiring and accessible meetings. www.repaircafe.org.
