THE POPULAR Worcester Repair Cafe is celebrating a year of giving broken and damaged goods a new lease of life.
Since the cafe was launched last May at STARS Adult Day Care Centre on Stanley Road, 295 visitors have brought 419 broken items to be fixed, with a success rate of more than 70 per cent.
The cafe’s dedicated team of volunteer repairers, who hold a session on the second Saturday of every month, include sewers, electricians, mechanics and carpenters.
As well an array of clothes, kettles and toasters, some of the more memorable items to be fixed include a cuckoo clock which had lost its voice, a toy giraffe with a detached eye, a globe that was tilted at the wrong angle and several pairs of the former Mayor of Worcester Coun Paul Denham’s trousers.
Rod Howell, chair of the Repair Cafe, said: “The last 12 months have been amazing. From the outset we were lucky to find such a brilliant venue in STARS.
“We have around 30 regular volunteers who help run the Repair Cafe every month. They are a testament to how public spirited Worcester people are.
“More than anything we’ve enjoyed being a part of something positive and getting to know new people.”
Duncan Bell, the group’s treasurer, said: “We would like to gratefully acknowledge the financial support we received in the early days of the Repair Cafe.
“We had a financial shot in the arm from the local community funding scheme, Worcester Soup, a lottery funded grant from Repair Cafe Hereford and Worcester. We also benefited from the Waitrose Community Matters scheme.
“We would like say thank you to all our donors, without whom we would find it impossible to sustain this project.”
Visit www.repaircafe.org/en/locations/worcester-repair-cafe for more information.
