Repair cafes are up and running again for the eighth year.
More than 30 volunteers took part in the first event of the year which took place at the Maple Ridge Public Library, including seven new volunteers, said Leanne Koehn, Ridge Meadows Recycling Society community engagement manager.
"Two of the new volunteers were teenage apprentices who were interested in learning more about electrical and electronics repair. We paired each of them with a mentor who could teach them ways of safely opening devices, checking where the issue was, and fixing the problem if possible," explained Koehn, noting that two other new recruits were talented at fixing almost anything, and were happy to collaborate with others to learn different ideas and approaches.
About 50 items were brought to the Repair Cafe on Saturday, Feb. 15, for fixing, including: some jewellery, an electric kettle, a pressure cooker, a turntable, and a cell phone.
There were also volunteers with sewing machines to mend articles of clothing.
The next Repair Cafe will be taking place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday March 15 at the Maple Ridge Seniors Activity Centre, 12150 224 Street in Maple Ridge.
At the event volunteers will also be accepting any recyclable items from seniors that they want to get rid of and the volunteers will bring the items to the recycling depot for them.
To see what items are accepted at the depot go to: https://rmrecycling.org/.
