Back row (L to R) Frani Leonard, Rich Savino, Gerry LaPlante, Jim Baker, Dan Kruger.
Front row (L to R) Ernie Begin, Dorian Taylor, Linda Colson, Libby Begin, Shawn Murphy.
Missing are Brian Caron, Catherine Lanyon and Frank Ludorf.
Meet the 13 skilled volunteer repairers–commonly called fixers–who work at Sustainable Suffield’s Repair Cafes.
They range in age from 27 to 85 years old and include two married couples. About half are retired, and half still work. Five are women and eight are men.
Two have electrical engineering degrees, and one is a mergers and acquisitions expert. Another installs hardscapes. One specializes in cybersecurity, while another sells homemade jams, jellies and gifts through her small shop. There’s a master electrician, a former business administrator and educator from Suffield Academy and a former Kent Memorial Library administrator.
Their talents are as diverse as their backgrounds, and they all volunteer one day each calendar quarter to repair broken household items for residents of Suffield and surrounding towns.
Committed volunteers
As co-chair of Sustainable Suffield, I admire their passion. I watch as they lug multiple heavy bins filled with tools to the Repair Cafes,
along with some repair supplies. They’re a relaxed group who joke, ask for advice from one another and exchange repair tips throughout the day.
We provide them with commonly used repair parts, like lamp switches and wire, bike chain links and lubricants, epoxies and super glues, with funds generously donated by visitors. We also use the funds to provide lunch for them and to pay for coffee, homemade muffins, and cookies for everyone. Our 13 fixers sharpen dull scissors, knives, chainsaws, and garden tools, and repair household items, including lamps and small appliances, wooden furniture and cabinet doors, ceramics, jewelry clasps and links, bicycles, and clothing with ripped seams, missing buttons, and nonworking zippers.
Why the fixers fix
When I asked the fixers why they’re so committed, here were a few of their emailed responses that reflect comments I’ve heard from many in the group. Frani Leonard noted, “If the skill that I spent a lifetime learning can help someone keep a favorite lamp or something else, I consider that time well spent. I haven’t seen a repair shop around in many years now. Where is someone supposed to take something to be fixed? There just isn’t any place to go. So, it usually gets thrown out and a new one is bought, when the old one can be easily repaired.”
Frank Ludorf remarked that he wanted “to see a reduction of electronic waste. I’d like to see people change their perceptions about how much is fixable, and to have everyone consider fixing things instead of immediately junking them.”
Jim Baker replied: “I really enjoy bringing life into older items that some think have reached the end of their usefulness. I think this has become even more important with so much of what’s sold today being seen as disposable.”
That’s what Repair Cafes are all about: extending the life of fixable household items and reducing landfill waste.
Our next Repair Cafe is scheduled for Saturday, September 27, at the Suffield Senior Center on 145 Bridge Street, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Come with your broken household items, and our fixers will try to repair them on a first-come, first-served basis. We currently need additional sharpeners. If you are skilled and interested, or know someone who is, please email us at sustainablesuffield@SuffieldCT.gov.
