Do you like fixing things? Join Kingston's
Repair Café Kingston upon Thames is a neighbourhood initiative that promotes repair as an alternative to tossing things out. Transition Town Kingston is organising a Repair Café on the first Saturday morning of every month, starting in February 2023, in Kingston Library, where residents can bring their broken items to fix on the spot with the help of voluntary repairers.
Repair Café Kingston is looking for volunteers with a range of skills who could be our repair experts, sharing their knowledge and experience during Repair Café sessions, helping members of the community to keep usable stuff out of the waste system and and showing them how to do simple repairs. We are especially looking for people who enjoy fixing:
* clothing / textiles * musical instruments
* electrical appliances * furniture / wooden objects
* china * anything else you could offer…
In addition, we are also looking for people could help with the role of host at the meetings. You would provide coffee, tea, biscuits and cake, welcome visitors and serve as a contact point for both visitors and repairers in the Repair Café.
Safeguarding: we require at least 2 volunteer repairers per table/group (#2, clothing and textiles; #3 & #4, electrical and electronics; #5 & #6, triage and miscellaneous repairs) - so that volunteers can advise and support each other and cope with demand. Working in pairs and in one large room ensures that no one is ever alone with a visitor, and protects volunteers and visitors from unreasonable behaviour or complaints. Volunteers should also read and familiarise themselves with our Safeguarding Policy, everyone should read Repair Cafe House Rules, and visitors should register and sign disclaimers, which clarify what to expect in terms of repairs and behaviour. The RCK organising team all wear red badges so that they are easy to spot in case of problems.
Repair Cafe Kingston will take place from 10.30am to 1.30pm on the first Saturday of every month in the community room of Kingston Library, Fairfield Road, Kingston upon Thames KT1 2PS. Repair Cafes are sociable events with tea/coffee and cake for volunteers and visitors, as well as repairs. Volunteers would be expected to arrive at 10.00am for briefing and setting up, but, depending on the number of volunteer fixers and the demand for repairs, they may not be needed every month.
Want to know more about the Repair Café? See the page of Repair Cafe updates on this website, have a look at the international website repaircafe.org/en and/or come along to one of our Saturday morning sessions to meet us and have a chat.
Want to sign up as a volunteer? Please read the useful information below and if you would then be happy to help with fixing things, email repair@ttkingston.org outlining in the first instance what kind of repairs you could offer. The next stage after that will be to read the info and fill in your details on the Volunteers' form that we will send you.
You might like to visit Kingston Library, if in the area, to have a look at the former reference library/community room - it's a lovely space to work in and is already quite well used by community groups, often starting at 10.30am, so 10.00am, just after the Library opens, seems to be a good time to visit.
- For the repairs we can't do - see https://www.ttkingston.org/ttk-groups-and-projects/kingston-repair-cafe/repair-shops/ for a growing list of repair shops. If you have recommendations, please let us know.
- Repair Cafe House Rules https://www.ttkingston.org/assets/other/repair-cafe-house-rules
- Repair Cafe Manual https://www.ttkingston.org/assets/other/repair-cafe-manual
- Working safely in the Repair Cafe https://www.ttkingston.org/assets/other/working-safely