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Fix and maintain

Get your broken goods fixed in East Portland on August 14

Get your broken goods fixed in East Portland on August 14

The first Repair Café in East Portland is taking place on Thursday, August 14, 2014, 6 – 9 p.m. at The Rosewood Initiative at 16126 SE Stark St. 

The Rosewood Initiative is a neighborhood space where you learn useful skills and connect with others. It’s the perfect place to host a Repair Café!

Repair Cafés are free events that bring volunteers who like to fix things together with people who have broken items that need fixing. Volunteer fixers work alongside attendees so there is an opportunity to learn how to fix your own items. 

Bring broken items for volunteers to help fix – for free! There will be Spanish and Russian speakers on hand to assist with translations.

This event is in partnership with Repair PDX, City of Gresham and City of Portland, bringing together residents from East County for the first time. The Rosewood Initiative is unique because it includes about 5,000 people in both Gresham and Portland.

“We're excited to bring neighbors and volunteers to Rosewood for the Repair Café for the first time,” said Jenny Glass, Executive Director. “Many of our neighbors don't have the space or resources to work on projects, so this is a great opportunity to empower folks to fix broken items, save things from being thrown into the landfill and build community!”

The Rosewood Initiative wants to reach residents in the Rosewood neighborhood – to connect and support neighbors and promote a sense of community. They do this by connecting people who live and work there, supporting skills and leadership opportunities to empower community members and promoting the neighborhood to others to build and strengthen community ties.

Volunteers at the Repair Café will be providing FREE:

  • Bike repair
  • Small appliance repair
  • Small engine repair
  • Sewing
  • Electronics repair

Look for Green Spots at Sunday Parkways in North Portland on June 22

Look for Green Spots at Sunday Parkways in North Portland on June 22

Sunday Parkways takes place this weekend in North Portland, with Green Spots popping up along the route to show sustainable community features that nurture healthy, connected neighborhoods.

The list of Green Spots include:

  • June Key Delta Community Center (N Ainsworth Ave and Albina Ave)
  • Harper’s Playground at Arbor Lodge Park (N Delaware Ave and Bryant St)
  • North Portland Tool Library at the Historic Kenton Firehouse (Green Spot is at N Delaware Ave and Schofi­eld St; Tool Library is one block east at N Brandon Ave)
  • New Columbia at McCoy Park (N Trenton Ave and Fiske Ave)
  • Transportation Safety (N Willamette Blvd and Rosa Parks Way)

Be Resourceful is partnering with Green Spot at the North Portland Tool Library at the Historic Kenton Firehouse near Kenton Park. At the Green Spot, Sunday Parkways attendees can learn how to borrow tools from the tool library, get help repairing broken items at Repair Cafés, and share favorite community resources on the Be Resourceful map.

The Kenton Firehouse itself also has shared space available to rent for gatherings of many sizes, and also hosts community events. The space offers a variety of ways to extend the life of the things that you need, meet neighbors and learn about the sharing community.

North Portland Sunday Parkways is Sunday, June 22, 2014, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. The route takes you on a tour along the scenic Willamette Boulevard, and then you can glide towards Peninsula, Arbor Lodge, Kenton, Columbia Annex and McCoy parks to enjoy an array of activities, food, music, vendors and fun.

Mercy Corps hosts free Repair Café on June 12

Mercy Corps hosts free Repair Café on June 12

Mercy Corps hosts first west side Repair Café on Thursday, June 12 from 6 until 9 p.m. 

As Repair Cafés gain popularity, community organizations like Mercy Corps have been reaching out to Repair PDX to co-host these events and increase both organizations’ ability to help Portlanders live resourcefully. Hosting a Repair Café supports Mercy Corps’ mission to build productive and sustainable communities, here in Portland and around the world.

Mercy Corps employees will be volunteering with other Repair Café “fixers” to help attendees troubleshoot and repair broken items, so there will be plenty of talented fixers on hand.

This event will include:

  • Clothing
  • Small appliances
  • Electronics
  • Bikes

Mercy Corps is excited to host a community event that brings people together for a common purpose of sharing local knowledge and technical skills to reduce waste! Grab that broken kitchen appliance or pile of clothes to be mended and head to Repair Café!

Repair PDX organizes Repair Cafés and partners with community organizations to bring these events to Portland neighborhoods. In May, North Portland Tool Library hosted a café where 40 different items got fixed. Over the last year, there have been 11 Repair Cafés and over 300 items repaired!

Bring your broken items for volunteers to help fix – for free! 

Repair Café Thursday, June 12
6-9 p.m.
Mercy Corps Portland headquarters
45 SW Ankeny St.


Bring broken items to Repair Café for “fixing” and fun on May 1

Bring broken items to Repair Café for “fixing” and fun on May 1

North Portland Tool Library is hosting the next Repair Café on Thursday, May 1 from 69 p.m. at the Kenton Firehouse at 8105 N Brandon Ave.

This event is the start of a new partnership between Repair PDX and North Portland Tool Library, where the tool library will host quarterly Repair Cafés at their space in North Portland.

North Portland Tool Library is a resource dedicated to building community and fostering sustainability by providing residents with tools AND the power to use them. Community members may borrow from the extensive collection of tools, free of charge. The tools in the library will also be available at the Repair Café.

Repair Cafés are free events where “fixers” volunteers who like to fix things come together with people who have broken items that need repair. Fixers work alongside attendees, so there is an opportunity to learn how to fix items. Repair Cafés are organized by Repair PDX and have been taking place around Portland since May 2013. Read more in our previous post on Portland’s repair movement.

Bring broken home and garden items for volunteers to help fix – for free! This event will include:

  • Bike repair
  • Garment and fabric mending
  • Small appliance repair
  • Lawnmower and small engine repair
  • Speaker repair

The last repair event brought nearly 90 people to Northeast Portland to fix 99 items. The items ranged from lawnmowers, bikes and clothes to a circular saw, waffle iron, lamps and more. That equals 305 pounds of materials saved for reuse! Bring your broken items to the next event and see how fun fixing can be.

Repair PDX is building the repair movement in Portland

Repair PDX is building the repair movement in Portland

Repair PDX is a local, grassroots organization that hosts Repair Cafés in the Portland metro area. 

Repair Cafés are free events that bring volunteers who like to fix things together with people who have items that need fixing. 

How do they work?

Repair PDX coordinates with local businesses, community markets, churches or tool libraries to host events. Repair PDX maintains a list of volunteer “fixers” who offer their time and skills to repair items at each event. 

Typical repair items include small appliances, electronics, bikes, toys, jewelry and garments. Each Repair Café event is unique based on the venue and the volunteers present. Expert volunteers are on hand to not only fix items, but to teach participants how to fix their own items as well.

What to bring?

  • Broken items and any replacement parts you think you might need 
  • Curiosity, patience and a do-it-yourself attitude

Of course, there is no guarantee people will walk out with a workable item. The volunteer events may not be staffed with those who have the right skills, it may take some time to research and find repair parts, or it may just not be feasible to repair some items. 

Why do we need Repair Cafés?

Buying durable goods and clothing, and repairing them when they become worn or damaged, not only saves you money, but is better for the environment. Did you know that 35 percent of the total carbon emissions in Multnomah County come from the mining, making, moving, using and tossing of the stuff we use every day?

Learn more about Repair PDX in The Atlantic’s recent article about the Portland repair movement, or come to the next Repair Café on Thursday, March 20 at Bike Farm.

Repair Café focuses on home maintenance

Repair Café focuses on home maintenance

Repair Cafés are free events that bring volunteers who like to fix things together with people who have broken items that need fixing. 

This Repair Café will focus on preparing for spring – particularly your garden! Volunteer fixers will be on hand to assist Portland residents get their home, yard and garden ready for the change of season by offering repairs on tools, lawnmowers and small appliances. 

 

Bike Farm is hosting the next Repair Café on Thursday, March 20 from 6 until 9 p.m. at their shop at 1810 NE 1st Ave (at Schuyler St).

This event will include:

  • Tool and knife sharpening
  • Lawnmower and small engine repair
  • Small appliance repair
  • Garment and fabric mending
  • Bike repair

Volunteer fixers work alongside you so there is an opportunity to learn how to fix your own items. Learn more about Portland’s repair movement in our recent post about Repair PDX!

NE Portland Tool Library has what you need for your DIY home project

NE Portland Tool Library has what you need for your DIY home project

Carrie Treadwell, from Be Resourceful partner Chinook Book, shares her recent experience with the Northeast Portland Tool Library below.

"Have you heard about Portland area tool libraries? They’re an amazing resource for anyone with a love for DIY projects. Just like it sounds, local tool libraries rent tools, instead of books, to people who live in the neighborhood.

I happen to live near the Northeast Portland Tool Library and became a member before embarking on a small home remodeling project. I was pleasantly surprised by the quantity and variety of available tools. The volunteers on site were very helpful and made the experience not only productive, but fun.

The project my husband and I took on was installing an egress window in the basement of our little 1920s home. At the tool library, we “checked out” a chop saw, a hammer drill (for drilling through concrete), a sledgehammer and chisel—all free of charge! We knew this was a one-time project and wouldn’t have the use for these particular tools again; so borrowing them for one week was perfect. We absolutely could not have completed the project without them.

In the end, our project was a success. The egress window looks perfect, and helps us utilize more space in our little bungalow. I highly recommend checking out your local tool library before your next project.

Even if you don’t have any immediate projects, it’s good to know what’s out there for future projects, or when surprise repairs are needed.

Tool libraries are available to residents of East Portland, North Portland, Northeast Portland, and Southeast Portland. These community resources have limited hours and run on volunteer people power. Consider donating time, money or materials to help keep the tool libraries up and running."

Find out more about the tool library movement across the country.