West Sacramento Repair Café

 Where Fixing Things Fixes More Than Just Stuff

In an era of disposable everything, a grassroots movement is quietly revolutionizing how communities think about broken belongings—and West Sacramento is part of it.

On the last Saturday of each month, a team of volunteers sets up tables, tools, and sewing machines at Holy Cross Church in West Sacramento. From 9 a.m. to noon, the doors open to anyone who wants to fix a torn shirt, a jammed toaster, or a squeaky bike. The event is called a Repair Café, and it’s part of a global network of over 3,600 similar cafés worldwide.

“We just became incorporated as a nonprofit,” explained Terri Young, one of the driving forces behind the West Sacramento Repair Café. “We're part of an international organization that started in Amsterdam about 15 years ago. The idea is simple: keep things out of the landfill by fixing them instead of tossing them out and buying new.”

Young was introduced to the concept by Ani Durst, president of the newly formed nonprofit and a longtime volunteer in the West Sacramento community. Durst said she discovered the Repair Café concept through a community in Evanston, Illinois and decided, “We’ve got to bring this to West Sacramento.”

From there, the spark grew. Young, Durst, and a third community member visited repair cafés in San Francisco, Palo Alto, and Berkeley. They were inspired by what they saw: sewing stations humming with activity, teens learning electronics repair, and neighbors connecting over broken lamps and frayed seams. 

Durst calls the West Sac venture “an interesting project” that seems to run on its own momentum. “If you just put it out there, the people come to you,” she said. “The people who want to repair things show up, and the people who want to get things repaired show up. You don't have to push—it’s just a good idea whose time has come.”

At a recent café, I brought in a lightweight sun shirt whose back I had previously tried—and failed—to repair. Pat Grieshop, a sewing volunteer, took it on with skill and good cheer. Her stitch-work made it not only wearable again but practically good as new

Besides sewing, volunteers offer bicycle repair, knife and garden tool sharpening, small appliance and electronics fixes, and—on most days—jewelry repair. While no formal lessons are given, the Repair Café encourages learning by observation

“If someone wants to know how a repair works, they’re welcome to sit at the table and watch,” Young said. “Sometimes people who sew come in just to see how a certain technique is done.”

In August, the Repair Café will pilot a new kind of event—a cell phone help workshop, aimed at people who struggle with basic smartphone functions like enlarging text or silencing unwanted notifications. “It’s not about fixing the phone,” Young clarified, “but fixing the relationship people have with their phone.”

The group has bigger dreams too. They’ve explored partnerships with Sac City College’s West Sac campus to offer classes on 3D printing, tool lending libraries, and even youth education programs like those they saw in Berkeley

West Sacramento’s Repair Café has not had a permanent home. Initially hosted by the library, it moved to the Broderick Bryte Community Center, then to Holy Cross Church, and temporarily to Trinity Presbyterian Church when scheduling conflicts arose. The mobile nature reflects the café’s flexibility—but also its need for more stable support as it grows

The café draws inspiration from the Community Skill Exchange—also known as the Time Bank—where Young and Durst first met. The idea was to trade hours of services like gardening, pet-sitting, or art lessons rather than money. “You’d come to a potluck, meet others in the group, and find out what people could offer,” said Young

That spirit of mutual aid and sharing now fuels the Repair Café. Though the repairs are free, the benefits ripple outward—reducing waste, empowering volunteers, and connecting neighbors

With over 66,000 items repaired globally each month, and more than 55,000 volunteers involved, the Repair Café movement is proving that fixing things fixes more than just objects—it restores community

Want to Join?

West Sacramento Repair Café

🕘 Last Saturday of each month, 9 a.m. to noon

📍 Currently meeting at Holy Cross Church, Holy Cross Parish

1321 Anna St, West Sacramento, CA  95605, United States, West Sacramento

💰 Free and open to the public

🔧 Services offered: sewing, bike repair, electronics, tool sharpening, small appliances, jewelry repairs, and more

🛠️ No new repairs accepted after 11:30 a.m

“If it's an idea, whose time has come,” says Durst, “you just have to put it out there. People will come.”

~ Al Zagofsky