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Date: 1/26/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – On– Feb. 4, the East Longmeadow Health Department will be hosting a Fix-It Clinic at the East Longmeadow Senior Center, 328 North Main St., from 1-3 p.m. This clinic offers free, guided assistance from volunteers with repair skills to disassemble, troubleshoot and fix small household appliances, clothing, electronics, mobile devices and more.
Residents can bring a toaster, computer, stereo, jewelry, radio, sewing machine, lamp, toys, curtains/liners, blender, small furniture, fan, printer, coffee maker, and more.
“This is the first one we’re hosting,” said Recycling Coordinator Elizabeth Bone. “We’ve been thinking about doing one for the past couple of years. Of course, with COVID [-19] it’s been really difficult, but we’re going to give it a try and see how it turns out.”
Bone told Reminder Publishing Fix-It Clinics have taken place around the world for the past 10 or 15 years. The whole idea is instead of having people throw out their appliances or other items they have that are broken, they learn to fix it themselves and keep the items rather than getting something new. For instance, if someone has a broken chair, some bad wiring in their radio or a torn sweater, that person can come in with that item and a volunteer will teach them how to fix it, continuing the idea of re-use and also teaching a skill to someone in the community. Fix-It Clinics teach troubleshooting and basic repair skills, build community connections and reduce the number of repairable items that are thrown in the trash.
Those attending the event must wear a mask. There will be time slots on the sign-up sheet and the department will have tables set up socially distanced from other people as well as a table for each type of fixable item.
“We’re getting to a point not just in our community, but on the planet that there’s so much waste and there’s nowhere to put it,” Bone responded. “I feel that people really need to understand and see that every action they take, everything they buy has a consequence and if people can realize and normalize fixing something that’s broken instead of just buying something new…Even if it’s one community at a time it will help the planet and teach generation after generation, we need to reuse things as much as we can before throwing it out.”
To attend the event, register at https://tinyurl,com/3rzuv7ey or call the Senior Center at 525-5436.
Bone is still looking for volunteers. Anyone interested call 525-5400 ext. 1108 or email elizabeth.bone@eastlongmeadowma.gov.