Community Toolbox Canberra

"We know that there are not only environmental savings by reducing waste, but the economic savings — particularly in a cost of living crisis that we're currently facing — are huge."

There are multiple Repair Cafes across the Canberra region! Find a list here:

Repair Cafes — SEE-Change - Change for Society, Environment and Economy  Repair Cafés Volunteers repair your broken things. For free. A repair café is a community event where broken items are fixed by volunteer repairers. Time permitting, visitors can learn new skills in the process. Broken items are kept out of landfill and are given a new lease of life. The repairi...

The next Toolbox Repair Cafe is next weekend (Saturday, October 31 - we're always on the last Saturday of the month).

Volunteer repairers currently confirmed -
ELECTRICAL: Ian, Graham
GENERAL REPAIRS: Dave
TEXTILES/FABRIC: Rachel, Maddie, Beth
DARNING: Rachel
SHARPENING: Graham, Dave
IT, COMPUTERS: Albert

A reminder that the Facebook event (found on our Events tab: https://www.facebook.com/CommunityToolboxCBR/events ) will always have the most current info.

See you in Dickson! 🤩

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HOW IT WORKS
Repair Cafés - the short version: Where volunteers fix your stuff - for free. You bring your broken or other not-working-properly item along; we match you with a volunteer repairer who can hopefully diagnose the problem, and complete the fix for you.

Need more info, or specific details? Read on, or scroll to the bottom for some useful links ⤵️

A full list of repairers is made available close to each date, and usually includes fabric mending (eg hemming, patching), small electrical (eg lamps, irons, kitchen appliances), knife sharpening, and general repairs (eg gluing back small pieces). Sometimes we have more specialized help like phone and computer repair, 3D printing of small parts, and jewelry repair.

You're welcome to bring multiple items (please make sure they're CLEAN!!), but only one can be in the repair queue at any one time. You can join the queue again and again as long as there's time, though!

Repairs are free (occasionally you may have to bring or buy your own replacement part), and labour is donated out of kindness 💚 More info: https://www.communitytoolboxcbr.org/repair-cafe

House Rules (we'll also have a copy there on the day): https://www.seechange.org.au/caferules

Toolbox Repair Cafés take place on the last Saturday of the month at 8 Hawdon Pl, Dickson 2602 - right next door to Cafe Stepping Stone. Ours is just one of the repair cafés that take place in Canberra - find a full list here: https://seechange.org.au/repair-cafes

Did you know? 🌈

Alternate Sundays, LGBTQIA+ folk can come together and make stuff. Come for all or part of the session - bring your own project (and snacks) or try something new.

Find us at the Meridian Pride Hub in Turner from 2pm (next date: November 1). We hope to see you!

https://www.communitytoolboxcbr.org/event-calendar

(These particular q***r crafts made by Prudent_Tiger_7750 on Reddit).

Don't forget about the Tool Bus, friends! 😃

Usage has been down these past few weeks and it has to stay busy to be viable. The odd slow week is to be expected, but if the Tool Bus is consistently under-used, we'll need to look at allocating that volunteer time elsewhere.

Did you know? Any item that can fit in the Tool Bus and isn't ridiculously heavy (so, basically everything except the kayaks and the thicknesser 🙃 ) can be reserved online and then picked up at one of two handy stops during the week! Yes, rather than driving all the way to Watson, you can meet Volunteer Dave (pictured) or Volunteer Kathy, or another volunteer Tool Bus driver, and collect your item much closer to home. Amazing.

Current stops:
BELCONNEN (Wednesdays, 6:30pm - 7:30pm)
WESTON (Saturdays, 10am - 11am)

What are you waiting for?! Tool Bus is where it's AT!! 🥳 🚐 https://www.communitytoolboxcbr.org/toolbus

People hear the word "repair" and often think very practically about that broken lamp or a pair of jeans that need a hole patched. And we do look at that sort of thing at our monthly Repair Cafes, so keep bringing those things along!

But did you know we also offer free expert IT help? Volunteer Albert can help with any of these common issues:

💻️ Slow computer in general
‼️ Lots of pop-ups for no reason
🖱️ Problem connecting with another device (eg: phone, mouse)
💥 Does not start or charge
🚫 Can't install certain software
😣 Windows updates or features causing issues

If you need some IT help or advice, consider coming along to our next Repair Cafe - Albert will be there!

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THE DEETS -

🔨 Toolbox Monthly Repair Cafe
🔧 Saturday, October 31, 2026, 2pm - 5pm
🧵 Common Ground Hall, 8 Hawdon Place, Dickson (right next to Cafe Stepping Stone)

https://www.communitytoolboxcbr.org/repair-cafe

Seen recently on Facebook marketplace - who DOESN'T carry their toastie maker in their bag to use anywhere?! 🥪

We don't have EXACTLY this item in the Toolbox currently (and sadly we missed this $5 bargain) - but we have a jaffle iron, and two different pie makers! So get your melted cheese fix with something from the Toolbox 🧀

Browse the inventory here (you don't need to be a member to see the items!):
https://communitytoolboxcbr.myturn.com/library/inventory/browse

Could you be a Toolbox volunteer?

Nothing happens at the Toolbox without someone in the Canberra community giving their time and expertise for the good of us all 💚 We're 100% volunteer-run, from Thursday and Saturday shifts at the Watson location, to Tool Bus drivers, to Repair Cafe repairers and greeters, and more.

Could this be you? You can mostly set your own schedule (though a semi-regular commitment really helps us out!) and you'd be making so much possible.

Find all our current volunteer opportunities here: https://www.communitytoolboxcbr.org/volunteer

💚 ⭐ 😍

OK, it's time to get your fancy trousers on, because -

*drum roll*

your Community Toolbox recently passed 19,000 loans!! 🥳

Nineteen THOUSAND, Toolboxers! That's not bad, not bad at all. That's 19,000 items not sitting in sheds, not having toes stubbed on them when you try to get into the garage, not filling kitchen shelves - not going off to landfill.

Here's to the next 19,000! 🤩

Alice Lee!!! 🙌
Why are we telling you about her?

Well, mainly just because it means the size of your head won't be the deciding factor in whether you win the SEE-Change Pub Trivia or not 🥳 (and also for the look on her face; this is a woman who's just achieved an epic mic drop and we are here for it 💐)

Teams of 6 - Friday, November 6 - discount for booking a table - be there! 🍻

https://events.humanitix.com/see-change-pub-trivia-night

Hands up if you've heard of UpShop! 🙋 🙋‍♂️

They're another SEE-Change group (there are a lot of us! 💚 ) and they accept donations of unfinished sewing projects, along with unneeded craft and haberdashery items, to save them from landfill 🧵 🧶

Donated items are prepared for sale, and made available at their Kambah shop - the shop is open Fridays (9:30am - 3pm) and Saturdays (9am - 12pm).

Find them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61574876366832