Those with appliances such as broken chairs and busted computers can head on down to the grand opening event for Repair Café Pine Bush on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m at Crawford Town Hall.

Upon entering the Repair Café, attendees will be paired with volunteer “repair coaches” who will teach them how to repair any broken goods from dolls to sewing machines.

The first Repair Café started in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 2009. According to The Today Show, there are now more than 1,100 Repair Café’s nationwide in 29 different countries. Marcy Cleveland, who is spearheading Repair Café Pine Bush, chose to open this location after thoroughly enjoying the one in New Paltz. She noted that the atmosphere was amazing and the people were friendly. In addition, Ms. Cleveland chose to hold the event to help teach people to be more eco-friendly.

“The whole idea is why just throw something out,” she said. “Bring it to the Repair Café and see if someone has the expertise [to fix it].”
People are excited for Repair Café Pine Bush. Ms. Cleveland received overwhelming support from Pine Bush High School Principal Aaron Hopmayer. Students have created signage for the event in their technology course. Teacher Kara Sprague, who runs the Youth Empowerment and Sustainability Skills class at the high school, will have a few of her students helping out at the event.

Town of Crawford Community Services Director, Domanie Ragni, has been instrumental in gaining the town’s support and securing the second floor of town hall for the event to take place. Beck’s True Value Hardware has donated a $100 gift card for the first Repair Café. This money will be used for supplies such as wires and outlet plugs. Beck’s True Value Hardware vows to continue to support Repair Café Pine Bush moving forward.

Ms. Cleveland has been building up a following on Facebook over the last several months. According to the page as of Monday, 11 plan on attending the event and 102 people are interested. Ms. Cleveland plans to hold four Repair Cafés a year at town hall. She is overjoyed that the café is about to open.

“[I hope] It’s an overwhelming success,” she said. “I really hope this further builds our community.”