The Moorestown Improvement Association (MIA) will present the township’s inaugural Fixer Fair at the library porch from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Fixers will be available for repairs or advice in the following areas: lighting and lamps; small appliances and hand-tool sharpening; bicycles; stringed instruments (1:30 to 2:30 p.m.); and more. A small recycling bin will be available.
“Fixer Fair is a national movement and it’s about not throwing things away,” explained Lynne Schill, member of the MIA’s board of trustees. “Keeping things, fixing things, trading things – whatever we can do to keep stuff out of landfills …”
The idea for the fair stemmed from the Philly Fixers Guild, an independent collective of talented volunteers from various technical backgrounds who are committed to the idea of “repair rather than replace.” The guild was started in early 2014 by Ben Davis and Holly Logan, who were volunteering together for a community sustainability program in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, according to www.phillyfixersguild.org.
Guild members do not simply repair items for people, but rather work with them to teach the troubleshooting and fixing process. Their goals include supporting the community through the efforts of talented volunteers who help guests repair broken or damaged possessions for little or no cost and using repair events to educate people, young and old, who might be interested in mechanics; engineering; and IT (information technology), among other subjects.
“It’s kind of like getting the people involved as well in saying, ‘I know you have a college degree. We all do, but you don’t have to hire a repairman for everything,’” Schill noted. “ … If we can educate people a little bit, then they learn how to do things. They gain some confidence to do things. We save things from the landfill …
“So, it sort of fits into a lot of areas and we think it’s going to be fun,” he added. “Less goes into the landfill; you can keep treasured items and it’s fun.”
Established in 1904, the MIA is the oldest civic organization in the township. It is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the quality of life in the community with activities that focus on historic preservation, heritage appreciation, environmental concern and tree planting.
To help with the Fixer Fair, contact the MIA through its website at www.moorestownimprovement.org, follow the organization on Facebook and contact it through Facebook Messenger.
“We are a very unique, lovely, little town,” Schill observed. “We want to keep it feeling that way, and whatever we can do to help, we will do to help.”
