Chester County Commissioner Eric Roe’s 7-year-old son Callum was in tears.
According to Daddy, Callum’s most prized possession, his stuffed animal “Blue Bear,” was missing some girth due to much wear and tear. The pair is inseparable, and Callum can’t go to bed without Blue Bear.
Alas, Bob “Fix It Bob” Berkowitz and the Repair Café Downingtown saved the day and put some stuffing back into the toy bear and stitched him back up, making Callum and his father very happy.
Berkowitz started the Repair Café at Central Presbyterian Church, 100 W. Uwchlan Ave., Downingtown, about two years ago.
Six times a year, 25 volunteers fix everything from lamps to computers, electronics and jewelry, they sharpen things, they fix mechanical and electrical devices, and they fix things made of wood, clothing, textiles and bikes, mostly for free. The group only charges when new parts are used.
“Let’s repair this stuff and reuse it rather than send it to the landfill,” is Berkowitz’s and the organization’s motto.
Volunteer John Winterton is a repair coach and said that a key factor is that a lot of the things repaired don’t decay and will last for centuries.
“It helps everybody’s wallet,” Winterton said. “If you can keep something, why spend money if you fix it?”
Berkowitz said that family heirlooms are often brought in to be fixed.
“You can’t put a price tag on it,” Berkowitz said. “It doesn’t matter what the item is, it might have sentimental value to you.”
Fix It Bob said he is part of a Repair Revolution and fixers are transforming our throwaway culture.
He first learned of the program in the book “Repair Revolution” by Elizabeth Knight and John Wackman.
In 2009, the Repair Café came into being in Amsterdam. During 2012, it moved to America’s West Coast. In 2015, the program started on the East Coast.
Fix It Bob first repaired stuff at Repair Cafés in Warwick, New York, for more than five years. He volunteered once in Phoenixville and then started at the church in Downingtown in 2023.
Everybody is allowed to bring two items to fix. Lamp and bike parts are available for purchase.
At a March 8 Repair Café, Repair Coordinators welcomed 64 visitors to the church. Forty-one were there for the first time, with 99 items to be repaired. Visitors came from as far away as Lancaster and Berks counties.
Twenty lamps were inspected and worked on, 16 electronics/mechanical devices, 24 textiles were looked at, there were 5 bike repairs, 7 computer/electronics items, 9 sharpening items, 11 wood items and 15 jewelry items.
Seventy items were repaired, with 20 not able to be fixed, for an almost 80-percent success rate.
“We try to repair everything that comes in,” Berkowitz told me. “If you can carry it in, we will look at it.
“We spend a lot of time opening up, tearing down, to find out what the problem is and troubleshooting.
“We then figure out — do we have the parts?”
Some new parts, especially for lamps are purchased in advance at Home Depot and electrical stores, and the owner is charged. No gas engines, microwaves or lawnmowers are repaired.
Lamps are the number one most requested item for repair in the U.S. and Europeans most want their coffee makers fixed.
Berkowitz said he has fixed things his whole life. His said his father was an electrical contractor and the boy grew up around fixing things. While other children were out playing sports, he was working with Dad. He later served in the SeaBees and worked for utility companies in engineering and purchasing.
Having learned from his father, Fix It Bob teaches others. There are no drop-offs. You stay and watch and learn as the repair is made.
“You see what we are doing and see how simple it is,” Berkowitz said. “Perhaps, the next time you’ll do it yourself.
“The whole premise is teaching.”
He will show you that a lamp is little more than two wires, a plug and socket, and turning it from bottom to top is pretty simple. In the end, you might say, “I think I can do that, I’m sure I can!”
Downingtown Mayor Phil Dague has had things fixed at Repair Café.
“I have taken several items over to Repair Cafe over the past couple of years. One item was an old Victorian floor lamp that was my grandmother’s. The wiring looked like Circa-1943, and I was concerned about safety. Thanks to Repair Cafe, the lamp might be old, but the wiring is brand-new and up to today’s standards.
“We have gotten to be such a throw-away society, and now is a good time to rein in on that. Why throw it away when it can be made as good as new? Keep it out of the landfills. What better way to avoid paying tariffs?
“When Repair Cafe first came to Downingtown, I thought that it was a one-off, but I have been delighted to see them return every couple of months. Hopefully, more people will avail themselves to this extremely valuable service!”
I have a lamp that works most of the time and I’d like it to work always. Fix It Bob and the crew might just get a visit from me. See you there.
The Repair Café Downingtown is located at Central Presbyterian Church, 100 W. Uwchlan Ave. The next meetings are July 12, Sept. 13, and Nov. 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Website: repaircafedowningtown.com
Email: to contact Berkowitz for more information, or to volunteer: repaircafe165@gmail.com
Facebook: @RepairCafeDowningtown
