More repair cafés in Cambridgeshire as campaign exceeds target
Strong community support has been cited by the Cambridgeshire Repair Café Network team as it reached its £10,000 target to help expand local repair cafés.
Sixty-five people donated to the week-long fundraiser and St Ives-based engineering and design consultancy 42 Technology (42T) stepped up to ensure the campaign met its goal. In total, the team raised £11,527.
Alana Sinclair, manager at Cambridge Carbon Footprint which hosts the network, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have met and exceeded our goal. It’s also been a huge boost to see how much interest there has been in the campaign from both the community and business. People can really see the benefits repair cafés provide, bringing people together to do something positive for the community and the environment.
“People naturally hate waste and electronic waste is a big problem, especially in the UK where we have the second highest rate of electronic waste in the world. The EU has adopted a position to support one common charger for electronic devices. We need measures like this that reduce waste and make it easier for items to be repaired.
“The support for our campaign has been phenomenal. We’ve had even more groups come forward asking for help to get a repair cafe started in their local area. The donations we’ve received will mean we’re able to help them and ensure that repair cafés in our region continue to thrive and grow.”
Jon Spratley, CEO at 42T, said: “When the opportunity arose to assist the Cambridgeshire Repair Café Network to reach their fundraising aim, we didn’t hesitate to help them, as sustainability runs through the core of our business.
“We view it as a responsibility to not only help our clients, who are often multinational manufacturers, to develop excellent products, but also ones that will last and be more sustainable. We also believe that reducing waste, the environmental impact and precious resources through repairing items rather than allowing them to go to landfill dovetails with our overall business philosophy and values.
“Of course, as engineers we like to have fun tinkering with things and fixing things in our spare time too. We are proud that our head of electronics and software, Paul Bearpark, already takes an active role in running a repair café.”
Since 2016, the network has grown from two local repair cafés to 26. Upcoming events include:
- Barrington, May 7
- Willingham, May 8
- Marmalade Lane, Cambridge, May 21
- Swavesey, June 25
- Cottenham, June 26
- Mill Road, Cambridge, July 9
- Waterbeach, July 17
- Whittlesford, July 30.
Visit cambridgecarbonfootprint.org/repaircafes for more details on each event and how to book.
Read more
Call for more repair cafés in Cambridgeshire
