Common Grounds’ bi-monthly Repair Cafe will return from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26, at Common Grounds. Repair Cafes, which encourage people to repair “broken, but beloved” items rather than replacing with newly manufactured items, first gained popularity in The Netherlands as a movement to reduce the amount of waste entering the landfill stream.The concept has now spread throughout the world, with a cluster of New York State Repair Cafés recently popping up in the Hudson Valley region.

The New York Times recently spotlighted the growing number of Repair Cafes with an article that can be found at nytimes.com/2017/01/18/us/repair-cafe.html?_r=0. “The gatherings engender a sense of camaraderie as volunteers learn the stories of the items they repair,” states the article. “Staffed entirely by volunteers, the Cafes do not promise a successful repair of all items that arrive at the door, but they do guarantee an interesting time.”

“We are fortunate to have several skilled volunteers sharing their time and talent.  August’s cadre includes a few seamstresses, a furniture repair specialist and several ‘jacks of all trades,’” said Kelli Johnson, Director at Common Grounds. “Additionally, Timebank Coordinator Mary Bartlett will be on hand to give information about this sharing economy platform and to help people become Timebank members.’”

For more information about the Repair Café, please contact Kelli Johnson at [email protected] or 315-655-4468.

This event, and many more, can be found on RecDesk, Cazenovia’s “virtual community center” at cazenovia.recdesk.com/community.