MOUNT VERNON — Do you have a vacuum cleaner that no longer works? Maybe a coffee maker spurting coffee instead of a smooth drip?
You don’t know how to fix it but are holding out hope someone will come to the rescue?
Perhaps the Mount Vernon Repair Café can help.
Repair Café, located at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on the corner of Gay Street and East High Street in the basement meeting room, is running on its sixth year helping folks fix broken or malfunctioning items for free.
The first Repair Café in Knox County was created in November 2018 and takes place four times a year. This year’s dates are Feb. 17, May 18, Aug. 17, and Nov. 16 from 1 to 4 p.m.
The first repair café in Mount Vernon included an electric mower, paper shredder, bicycle, sewing repair machine, vacuum cleaner and a broken cork board on a stand.
The concept of a Repair Café started in the Netherlands in 2009. Five repair cafes have since sprouted in Ohio.
Mark Tillack is the local organizer for the Knox County repair café.
The café is operated by volunteers, taking three hours of their day to help fix broken items.
Volunteer Bruce Hawkins loves tinkering with things. With his father being an electrical contractor, Hawkins followed in his father’s footsteps.
This in turn made him a skillful volunteer at the Repair Café.