Stratford Repair Café successful thanks to handy volunteers

Repair Café volunteer Ray Wales repairs an antique toy.

Bikes and furniture were just some of the things fixed at Stratford’s Repair Café.

Over 60 free repairs were completed for people from the community at the Stratford District Council (SDC) event.

Peter McNamara, SDC waste and water education officer, says the volunteer repairpersons were the heroes of the day.

“A big thank you to Colin Cowie, Malcolm Izzard, Lee Cloke, Phillipa Rosen, Ray Wales, and Jess McNamara for giving their time and skills to help their community. We had volunteers come in early and stay late to finish repairs. Some repairers even finished mending items over the week after the event. They really cared about doing things right.”

The Repair Café handled a wide range of repairs, with electrical, furniture, sewing, mechanical and bike repairs being the most popular. All items were repaired for free, with parts being donated by the volunteer repairpersons.

One bike and three electrical items weren’t able to be mended. They either could not be fixed or needed extensive repairs or parts.

Peter says each piece bought in for repair came with a story.

“We saw wartime toys, a beloved kerosene lamp that belonged to someone’s grandfather, Mum’s favourite dress, and a little weedeater that needed a bit of love to help a lovely lady tackle the garden again,” says Peter.

The feedback from the community on the day was overwhelmingly positive, says Peter. One community member even turned up with a Christmas cake for the volunteers.

Building on the success of this year’s event, the Repair Café will be back in 2023, but this time will be run by the community. Volunteers, including repairpersons involved in the recent Café, will take on the organisation of the event, with the venue being supplied by Stratford District Council.

When asked what his favourite part of the Repair Café was, Peter says he was able to chip in and fix a little boy’s Spiderman scooter.

“Just being able to fix up his scooter and see him ride on and off to the pools was the best. I might not be organising next year’s Repair Café, but I’m going to be volunteering.”