Spring Rockland Repair Café is May 5th

Residents are encouraged to bring beloved broken items to Rockland BOCES in West Nyack to be fixed, free of charge, by volunteer Repair Coaches

COUNTY PRESS RELEASE – County Executive Ed Day today announced that the Spring Rockland Repair Café will take place Sunday, May 5, 2019, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Rockland BOCES Jesse Kaplan School in West Nyack.

The event pairs volunteer Repair Coaches, who are neighbors with fix-it expertise, with people who bring in items to be fixed such as lamps, computers, clothing, frames, small appliances, wooden items, toys and electronics.

Anything that can be carried in by an individual will be considered for repair, except for items with gas engines (i.e. no lawn mowers, chainsaws, gas-powered landscaping equipment). Repair Coaches will assess your item and fix it for free, provided they have the materials needed on-hand. Repair Coaches almost always have the know-how!

Repairing broken items instead of throwing them out minimizes truckloads of trash traveling to landfills for disposal. This is crucial, according to Anna Roppolo, Executive Director of the Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority. “Repairs not only save money and resources, they can help minimize CO2 emissions. Reducing what we put into the trash is how we can make the greatest impact,” said Roppolo.

The ability to fix or repair items is a dying art, and Repair Café celebrates the time, talent and transfer of fixer’s expertise, ensuring that their knowledge is shared with others – especially young people.

“The benefits of this partnership are extensive and transformational; preserving repair know-how skills by passing them on to the younger generation is critical to Rockland’s shared future,” County Executive Day said. “I ask that you join me in this important initiative because only by working together, fostering a true sense of community, can we complete the renaissance that we have begun in this county.”

Repair Café is a free, youth-friendly community event sponsored by Rockland Conservation & Service Corps (a program of the Rockland County Youth Bureau), Rockland County Solid Waste Management Authority and Rockland BOCES.

To call ahead to check if a volunteer Repair Coach can fix your item, call 845-364-2932 or e-mail rcsc@co.rockland.ny.us.

  BOCES, Rockland Repair Café