We throw away vast amounts of stuff - stuff which could get a new lease of life after a simple repair. Lots of people have forgotten that they can repair things themselves or they no longer know how. Repair Cafés are free meeting places where people come together to repair things together. In a local Repair Café, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need on clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, etc. You'll also find expert volunteers, with repair skills in all kinds of fields. Visitors bring their broken items from home and in the Repair Café, they start making their repairs with the specialists. It’s an ongoing learning process.
Repair Cafés help people in the community whose skills may not always be valued to get involved again. It helps neighbours from different backgrounds connect with each other and allows valuable practical knowledge to be shared. Repairing things at a Repair Cafe means things are being used for longer and don’t have to be thrown away. This reduces the volume of raw materials and energy needed to make new products.
We throw away vast amounts of stuff - stuff which could get a new lease of life after a simple repair. Lots of people have forgotten that they can repair things themselves or they no longer know how. Repair Cafés are free meeting places where people come together to repair things together. In a local Repair Café, you’ll find tools and materials to help you make any repairs you need on clothes, furniture, electrical appliances, bicycles, crockery, appliances, toys, etc. You'll also find expert volunteers, with repair skills in all kinds of fields. Visitors bring their broken items from home and in the Repair Café, they start making their repairs with the specialists. It’s an ongoing learning process.
Repair Cafés help people in the community whose skills may not always be valued to get involved again. It helps neighbours from different backgrounds connect with each other and allows valuable practical knowledge to be shared. Repairing things at a Repair Cafe means things are being used for longer and don’t have to be thrown away. This reduces the volume of raw materials and energy needed to make new products.
Everyone of the photos has a story from the pallet Christmas trees made from single use pallets, an ambulance for a sick dog made from a broken Zimmer frame to the young people fixing their football table!
Since receivng the ChangeX funding (10/02/2023) we have been able to put Insurance in place (£521.67), buy seven community toolkits (£415.24), procure the website and library software licence for the toolsharing of equipment (£164.39) and hire the Evan for Move It Mondays (£310) resulting in a total of £1411.30 (the overspend of £11.30 was meet from donations and other fundraising activities).
Although our ChangeX bid was prospective and ambitious we have been able effect real change in our community, reducing waste, saving previous water, recycling products and helping people learn new skills and change behaviours around waste!
arc in a simple numbers analysis:
32 Fix It Fridays
31 Move It Mend It Mondays
135 Events/Meetings attended
1079 Evan miles (1/4 tonne carbon saved)
1.5 tonne items saved from landfill
1866 volunteer hours
178 items repaired
192 tools loaned
75 water butt's installed (100,000L water saved)
243 products created
87 household visits (bulbs/key safes etc)
389 people trained
11 partner organisations supported (fixes/tools)
In someway, we have exceeded our hopes and in others it has spurred us on to do more, work with more partners, form a local charity and continue to deliver fix It events/workshops and establish more in the future.
To provide further evidence I will send photos and screen shots separately so as not to lose the important narrative and data in this email.
In summary, ChangeX funding helped take us from a simple idea to delivering on our aims with hundreds of positive examples of change-all helping to support people, place and Planet.
The balance of funding (£600) will enable us to procure insurance, more tools etc and deliver even more positive outcomes as we move into our second year.
THANK YOU doesn't cover the difference the ChangeX funding has and will make as Arran Repair Cafe goes forward.
We met up yesterday for a Fixit Friday with Mick, Ross (Fixers) Cameron (Maitre D) and Michael (Chair) at Brodick Library.
We recycled a small and a large vacuum and a printer weighing 6.98 kilos. We also reviewed our first three weeks and agreed to start the half hour appointments from 10.30 until 12 (4) to enable us to get the area ready and prepare Fixer stations etc.
Mick kindly agreed to draft a leaflet and posters for arc to help people learn more about what we are aiming to do.
A checklist of the forms and equipment was started to help prepare for Cafe events and will be reviewed regularly as we make progress rolling out events.
We were awarded funding from the Accenture Sustainable Community Challenge - Scotland, supported by Accenture to start Repair Café in our community! We can’t wait to get started! Thanks to ChangeX too! #AccentureSustainabilityChallenge
Here are Arran Repair Cafe Committee from top left: Patricia Templeton (Treasurer) Thea McGhie and Ronald Mosselman (Committee Members) Chrissy Duncan (Treasurer) and front: Michael Gettins (Chair) who got to meet in person last night and will meet again next week to review our progress/actions?
We have agreed our action plan including:
Fixit Fridays from 10-12.30 on Fridays at Brodick Library (appointments only)
Move it, Mend it Mondays for larger repairs and library of tools
Fixit's are free (parts at cost) with arc membership at £6 per annum, Tool Library membership is £24 per annum and a Pay it Forward scheme to ensure everyone has access to tools and support.
We are in the process of seeking funding for insurance and tools etc and hope to have more news soon?
To contact us call: Michael on 07788 788 074, email on [email protected] or message us on arranrepaircafe on Facebook
Exciting that we have our first in person meeting tonight (21\02\2023) and hope we can make progress on some of the great news about funding, Cafe events, website, my turn lending software, membership models, transport and accommodation!
If you would like to volunteer or want more information about Arran Repair Cafe events, our tool library and workshop/training or our community benefit projects-please get in touch on 07788 788 074, [email protected] or checkout our arranrepaircafe Facebook page?
We look forward to making a difference to: People, Place and Planet?!?