We had two busy events this month, doing a total of 15 recorded repairs. Our photographer’s camera wasn’t working, so we don’t have as many pictures as usual, but the items brought in included a microwave oven, various articles of clothing, a chainsaw, backpack, an electric heater, and as is a common sight… a couple lamps.
Lately the balance has shifted and we’re getting more things in for repair. This is great because that was the problem we’ve been working on, so it’s nice to know that our efforts are working.
A few of our regular mentors couldn’t make it to either event in March, which meant there was a point where all our mentors were busy and people had to wait to get help. One person said they’d come back next month to reduce the imbalance. If we had all the regulars, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but the fact of the matter is that we won’t have all our regulars, every event, forever. Which brings me to this month’s call for help…
Come be a shadow. Given that we need a larger pool of mentors to assist people with their repairs, consider this our official call for people to come in and shadow the entire repair process. We will match you up with a mentor who has the skills and experience that you want to gain. When something comes in and gets assigned to them, you’ll watch and learn as the mentor and repairer attempt to diagnose and repair the item. After you’ve shadowed a few times, you can swap places with the mentor and lead the repairs with someone dedicated to be there to consult with if you’re unsure what to do next.
The skills you gain as a shadow are yours to keep with no obligation, but if you want to give back to the community, it’d be great if you would come in to our events and help train others in the art of repair. We’d be better served by having a larger pool of people who might not be there every month than to have a small group of dedicated individuals. Because not matter how dedicated someone is, live will find a way to intervene from time to time. Having more people involved makes our community stronger.
The other topic typically covered by these monthly recaps is an update on how we’re doing in terms of tools and materials. Overall, we’re doing very well. We had another batch of generous donations come in this month ranging from glues to clamps to electrical tape.
The biggest need is still help spreading the word about our event. We’ve only been around since last summer, and many of the people who come in had never heard of Makerspace Urbana or the Independent Media Center (IMC). So word is getting out there to the wider community, and we want to continue expanding because every month we fix things and it might be a while before those people have anything else that is broken. At some point we’ll
So if you’re willing to download some fliers and post them on Mastodon, TikTok, Facebook or whatever platforms you’re on these days, that’d be great. Or print them out and post them on physical bulletin boards. Even better would be to tell people in person, because computers are great and all, but getting a personal recommendation is a lot more meaningful than seeing something someone posted online.
Other than that, there’s the aforementioned call for shadows, and our normal most wanted list of tools, supplies & materials.
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