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Event: Repair Fair in Port Richmond on January 31

January 29, 2015 Category: Method

The Repair Fair, run by the Philly Fixers Guild, is coming to Port Richmond this weekend at the Memphis Street Academy, located at 2950 Memphis Street.

The Philly Fixers Guild is a volunteer-run group that offers free repair services to save the community time and money, reduce waste, and educate people about mechanics, engineering and IT. The Port Richmond Repair Fair will be the third the group has held.

“We have seen a steady increase in the public’s participation over the previous two Repair Fairs,” said Ben Davis, one of the founders of Philly Fixers Guild, in an email. “Both have been wildly successful as we’ve sent many guests home with their items repaired.  In cases when repair is not possible, our guests still leave the fair having learned something about fixing things on their own.”

Davis said that 16 volunteer fixers participated in the November Repair Fair in Fishtown, and that about 58 items were worked on. Of those 58 items, 30 were fixed, 14 needed parts, and 14 were not able to be fixed.

The goal of the fair is to encourage participants to be active in the troubleshooting and repair process themselves, and participants cannot just drop items off to be fixed.

“Our primary goal is to change the way our guests think about a consumer product when it fails.  Often the item can be repaired; not just disposed of and replaced,” said Davis. “ In many cases, this can be done by the owner at home.  If we can work together at the fair with our guests to diagnose and attempt a repair on something, they gain repair confidence and knowledge and fewer things get thrown in the trash.”

Anyone is welcome between noon and 4 p.m. on January 31 to bring items that need to be repaired.

“We ask that people come to the Repair Fair with an open mind and ready to learn something.  We certainly can’t guarantee an item will be fixed, but we can at least try to educate the community in how their devices work and how they might be repaired,” added Davis.

For those who cannot make it to a scheduled Repair Fair, the Philly Fixers Guild has an “Ask A Fixer” feature on its website where users can fill out a form with details of their broken item, and a fixer will then offer them some advice and/or guidance on how to make the repairs themselves.

From our Partners

Find more information about the Repair Fair at http://phillyfixersguild.org/calendar/

Image via Philly Fixers Guild

Project

Memphis Street Academy

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