Doug Zaccaro works on a lamp for Pam Crowe during last year’s Repair Cafe at the Hopkinton Senior Center. PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO
Repair cafes are becoming increasingly popular in Massachusetts, and Hopkinton is no exception. On April 1, the Hopkinton Lions Club and Hopkinton Senior Center will host the second annual Repair Cafe at the Senior Center.
A Repair Cafe connects people who like to fix things with those who have broken items that need repair. Taking a broken item to a professional can be expensive, even for simple fixes. The Repair Cafe is a community effort to fix items at little or no cost to residents.
“We are keeping items out of the landfills,” Senior Center Assistant Director Jessica Migneault said. “We are keeping items out of the back of the closet and making items actually a usable item again.”
The people fixing items are volunteers. Some have specific skills, while others are general fixers. At the first Repair Cafe in September 2022, there were a dozen volunteers whose skill sets ranged from electrical work to woodworking to knife sharpening. Over 35 items were repaired, with tool sharpening for scissors, knives and garden tools being the most common request.
“Our repair cafe this year is in April so it is kind of the perfect time to get your garden tools ready to go,” Migneault said.
This year, sewing and mending will be added in addition to woodworking and electrical repair.
“Holes in the knee, seams that are torn, or holes in a shirt take minutes to repair if you’re someone that knows what you are doing, and our volunteer is,” Migneault said.
Volunteers also can repair furniture, rewire lamps and fix bicycles. Items with a small engine, like lawnmowers and snowblowers, likely are not able to be fixed by volunteers, but Migneault recommends contacting the Senior Center or sending a message through the Lions Club website to check. Individuals also are encouraged to send a fix-it request beforehand to allow for the proper people and tools to be arranged. Walk-ins are welcome as well.
The program is free and requires only the purchase of specific replacement parts if necessary. The volunteers will be using their own tools to repair items.
“The repair cafe is a great way to refresh items and reinvigorate things that you had in your closet and thought headed for the trash can through a simple repair,” Migneault said.
The repair cafe will take place Saturday, April 1, from 9 a.m.-noon at the Senior Center, which is located at 28 Mayhew Street.
Thank you to the Lions Club and Senior Center and all the volunteers for holding this. As the quote in the article said, it helps us be able to re-use things rather than send them to landfills, plus saves money. It is also a great instance of different parts of the community coming together to support each other.