Got a broken lamp? Or a skirt with a busted seam? Or a bike that desperately needs some attention?

Luckily for the residents of the Town of Highlands, the next Repair Café is coming on April 26 at the Highland Falls Library. “If you haven’t been to one of our Repair Cafes you should know that these are free community events where you bring your broken items and volunteer repair coaches help you fix them,” says Olga Anderson, chair of the Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee that is sponsoring the April event as part of the annual observance of Earth Day. “When something breaks these days, it is often difficult or expensive to get it fixed. The Repair Café is a great option to not only get longer life out of your favorite things but also avoids needlessly throwing those things away. It is not economically or environmentally reasonable to endlessly replace items that could be given a second life.”

Repair Cafés are part of a growing movement to teach people to see their possessions in a new light and to appreciate their value. International in scope, there are currently about 70 locations throughout the Hudson Valley, Catskills, Capital Region and North Country where Repair Cafes are organized and run by volunteers from the community.

“We have some wonderful coaches ready to help at our next Café and we are looking for more” says Anderson. “Even the smallest repairs bring joy to the owners and the fixers when we work together. It’s rewarding and its fun.”

If you have a skill in small furniture repair, or jewelry or toys or anything else you would like to share then join the next Repair Cafe on April 26. For more information contact Anderson at olga.anderson@gmail.com.