A voluntary led repair café is set to move to a new home which will enhance the scope of their repairs, thanks to the continued community support.
Horwich Repair Café is relatively new, after being formed almost a year ago when the word was put out on social media for volunteers.
Chair of the group Anne Lee says that the main reason they are moving is due to being able to get better parking facilities and Wi-Fi, after not having any Wi-Fi at the previous venue and limited parking.
Anne says that ensuring the new venue had level access and was near a bus route was also really important.
Anne added: “The whole thing has been very exciting.
“It just took off with the community, and even if you can’t repair things, customers still leave with a smile on their face because we tried.
“I think it will expand our repairs, having the Wi-Fi and make life so much easier with parking if people have things to carry.
“Without Wi-Fi we can only repair phones and not laptops or tablets.”
The group don’t charge anything for repairs and are community led with a social and environmental focus.
Anne said: “We have a really good team of volunteers.
“Some are friends, but many of them are complete strangers.
“I just put a word out on social media and asked if anybody wanted to get involved in this project.
“It’s been lovely because everybody has the same aim and it’s fixing things, and they want to save things from going into landfill.”
Anne also says that it can help save people money, but she still wants to encourage people to visit local businesses who may be better equipped to help, and at more reasonable prices than people may think.
She said: “We don’t want to undermine local businesses that repair clothes, computers, and all sorts of repair businesses.
“We want to encourage people to use them because some things are beyond what we can do, and we usually suggest places they can go.”
There are a range of volunteers at the group from different age groups, backgrounds, and disabilities.
They repair a wide range of items from toasters to vacuums to bikes, toys, clothes, and much more.
The café will be moving from St Elizabeth’s Church to next door at Brazley Community Centre on May 20.
Anne said: “I am so grateful to all the volunteers because without each and every one of them we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
The group runs on donations and was able to make this move as a result of this.
Anne says that whilst there is no expectation, if anyone would like to make a donation it would be greatly appreciated and help towards the running costs.
The group runs on the third Saturday of the month from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.
For more information email horwichrepaircafe@gmail.com or visit their official Facebook page.
If you have a story and something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at jasmine.jackson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @JournoJasmine.
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