Appeal for volunteers to keep repair cafe open

The St Austell branch was set up in 2021 by Peter Blenard to help people with repairs or advice in the local community

A community repair hub has made a plea for more volunteers after it had to suspend its opening times due to staffing issues.

The St Austell Repair Cafe, which is part of a 26-strong consortium across Cornwall, said it was on hiatus until September because it was unable to "promote and run the Repair Cafe effectively."

The St Austell branch was set up in 2021 by Peter Blenard to help people with repairs or advice in the local community.

Mr Blenard said the decision to pause the cafe was "sad because I think people are really tapping into this space where they can bring their items and get them fixed".

'Bringing people together'

Mr Blenard said: "We've got the people coming in but sadly we don't have the volunteers and we know there are people out there with skills we can use.

"You don't need to be absolutely amazing at something - I would always refer to myself as a jack of all trades but a master of absolutely nothing.

"Even the smallest skills you think you have, can be helpful to so many."

Mr Blenard said the repair cafe was looking for more electrical repairers, more mechanical repairers, more people with soldering skills and more sewing skills.

"It's not just about fixing stuff, although that has such a positive impact, this is about bringing people together as well," he added.

"It's about sharing your skills and getting to know each other."

'All sorts of roles'

The chairman said vacuum cleaners were "usually an absolutely huge" item brought in for fixing, alongside watches, lamps and clocks.

Mr Blenard said he would "love five or six volunteers willing to give a couple of hours a month" to help get the repair cafe up and running again.

"We want people to feel comfortable and that it's not a huge daunting prospect but something that can help your local community and also help people in need who haven't got the money to buy something new."

"It's not just about fixing things. We need people to provide the tea and coffee, triage the things that come in and point people in the right direction. There's all sorts of roles at a repair cafe," he added.

The St Austell Repair Cafe will be running a volunteer introduction morning at 10:00 BST on 9 August in the Light & Life Centre.