The Groves Repair and Share Cafe

Can you help keep our vibrant community project thriving in 2025?

The Groves Repair and Share , one of the UK's only monthly repair cafes, has been an anchor point for the local community for nearly 3 years. This vibrant, buzzing gathering takes place in St Thomas' Church Hall on the last Saturday of every month from 9:30-12:30.

Over 300 local people come regularly or occasionally to have much-loved items repaired, to learn new mending tricks from skilled volunteers, to get energy saving advice, swap seeds, or simply to have a brew and a bun in friendly company. We accept donations on a 'pay-as-you-feel' basis, making us accessible to anyone.

It's a welcoming, diverse community of all income levels, ages and ethnic backgrounds. A typical session might see volunteers taking up nurses' scrubs, helping parents resize their kids' school uniforms, saving a student's broken hoover from landfill, repairing bike brakes, upcycling scruffy furniture, and salvaging family heirlooms. While people repair or wait, we chat, and learn about each other's lives -the benefits are not only environmental and financial, but social.

However current funding sources have run out and the Repair Cafe has costs to meet: storage, insurance, publicity, and admin. We have applied for external grants but while we wait to hear whether these are successful, we urgently need funds or we may be forced to close.

We have ambitions to grow and develop! If our 2025 funding bids are successful, we'll return to having a paid coordinator. We'll also be able to offer skills workshops, and start a Library of Things so the community can have affordable, environmentally friendly access to all kinds of equipment instead of buying it individually.

If 50 supporters could donate at least £10 each (much less than the cost of getting a zip replaced commercially!) it would tide us over a difficult time and keep us doing what we do best. If some are able to be even more generous and give £20 or even £50, we might be able to cover some of our admin costs, which would put us on a more stable footing.

Thank you for supporting our wonderful mending and sharing community!