May Repair Cafe News

Textile and sewing machine repair coach Reg Shaw (right) works on a guest's sewing machine and gives her some maintenance advice at April's Woodbury Repair Cafe in Orange County.

(Photo credit: Suzie Fromer)

April: RCHV's Busiest Month

(Above, left to right): Vincent Kopicki (Commissioner, Westchester Department of Environmental Facilities), Suzie Fromer (RCHV Coordinator), Gina Carey (Co-organizer, TarryHollow Repair Cafe), Lindsey Jeanne Taylor (Co-producer, Rivertowns Repair Cafe and Hastings Repair Cafe), Bob Wilson (Electrical/Mechanical Repair Coach throughout Westchester), Sarah Wilson (Organizer, Yorktown Repair Cafe), Ariella Gastel (Co-Producer, Hastings Repair Cafe) and Ken Jenkins (Westchester County Executive) at the EcoAward ceremony.

(photo credit: Alex Acaro)

Suzie Fromer, RCHV's coordinator, was kept extra busy during Earth Month this year. RCHV now boasts 68 cafes throughout the Hudson Valley, Catskills and Capital Region. Suzie recently created a comprehensive NY State listing of all repair cafes and other community repair events in the state for the NYS DEC’s new repair cafe page. She also presented case study on textile repairs at RCHV cafes on Friday, April 25th during the 5th Annual International Repair Cafe Webinar. Later that afternoon, along with several of her Westchester cafe organizers and colleagues, she received an EcoAward from Westchester County for RCHV’s work saving over 1,700 items from the landfill at 22 cafes held throughout the county in 2024.

Colonie Repair Cafe returns as does the Rivertowns TarryHollow Cafe (a joint effort between Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow). Clifton Park and Pleasant Valley are back and Schenectady Repair moves to a new location--it will be at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Scotia, NY this month, and NOT at the Electric City Barn in Schenectady as it has been for the past several years.

MAY REPAIR CAFES

Help us keep Repair Cafe Hudson Valley going strong! Please consider donating at the link below. Donations go to our fiscal sponsor, the 501(c)3 Sustainable Hudson Valley, but will be earmarked for RCHV if you make a note saying it is for Repair Cafes. Thank you!

RCHV IN THE NEWS

RCHV was thrilled to be included in AARP's Senior Planet's article on repair cafes and events, as so many of our dedicated organizers and fixers are seniors. Steve Wehr (above), pictured sharpening knives at the April Hyde Park Repair Cafe, not only volunteers as a fixer during the cafe, he is also a member of Hyde Park's Community Advisory Council which helped bring a repair cafe to Hyde Park.

(Photo credit: Suzie Fromer )

"Don't Trash it--Fix it!" AARP's Senior Planet, April 3, 2025.