Horsham Repair Cafe – saving energy & Christmas lights!
Press release
Do you dread turning on your Christmas tree lights? The festive season can be an expensive and wasteful time of year and so often those Christmas tree lights don’t work! Well if that is the case, do not despair, the Horsham Repair Cafe can help.
On 2nd December at the Quaker Meeting House, Worthing Road, Horsham there will be a team of experts ready, willing and able to fix Christmas lights, flashing Christmas jumpers, small electrical appliances, computers, iphones, ipads, tablets, clothing repairs and much more.
This month the Repair Cafe will also have an energy advice session. This will be run in conjunction with energy saving experts, Groundwork South, who will explain ways in which savings can be made on energy and water, also offer advice regarding different schemes.
Carrie Cort, one of the founding members of Horsham Repair Cafe and founder of Sussex Green Living, along with her 9 year old son Adam, were recently presented the WSCT Community Awards – Friends of the Environment Award. ’Carrie says “The Repair Cafe aims to prevent repairable consumer goods being sent to landfill and save people money”. She continues: “At this community- centred monthly event there are people available with whom to discuss the many positive and practical steps that can be taken by us all, to help look after our environment, avoiding the worst impacts of climate change”.
The Horsham Repair Cafe takes place on the first Saturday of every month 10am – 
12.30pm. Jill Shuker one of the Repair Cafe organisers added: “Although originally we planned to have a rolling theme, many volunteers have stepped forward and we are delighted to say it is turning into a general repair cafe”. She continued “As well as energy advise and repairs there will be a display of stunning upcycled Christmas decorations and Christmas gifts made by people supported by the Purple Community Fund, all money taken from the sales goes to support families who live on a dumpsite in Manila”.
The Repair Cafe received a £1000 start up fund, through the ‘Change the World in 20 ways’ grant from West Sussex Company Green People. Green People are celebrating 20 years of manufacturing natural plant based organic beauty products with human and environmental health in mind. During November and December Horsham Repair Café is one of the three community projects being voted for by the public with tokens in all local branches of Tesco.
Join us on December 2nd at the Quaker Meeting House for tea, coffee, homemade cakes and mince pies accompanied by friendly conversation. Those seeking energy advice should bring utility bills and repairs should ideally be booked via: www.HorshamRepairCafe.org.uk/
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Contact: Carrie Cort on 07768 212833 or
About Sussex Green Living
Sussex Green Living (SGL) was launched in 2012 by a Billingshurst mother Carrie Cort, out of concern for environmental stability. SGL and its growing team of passionate volunteers inspire, motivate and equip people with practical and creative solutions to lead a more sustainable and adaptable way of living. They want a world where everyone lives within their environmental limits, sustainable communities which are vibrant, healthy and safe, respecting the local and global environment and where individuals and enterprise prosper.
Carrie provides environmental education and awareness through: fun green play sessions, and talks and workshops for children’s nurseries, schools and groups. She communicates greener living ideas through the Sussex Green Living ‘recycled stand’ at shows and supports event organisers with building in ‘green’ elements to their event.
Since 2012 the Sussex Greener Living Campaign has been offering people in Horsham District and towns as far away as Chichester and Selsey, a way of diverting landfill materials into a special recycling scheme. Carrie and local volunteers help to collect, sort and dispatch hundreds of thousands of items of waste resource, raising money for:
- William Penn Primary School in Coolham
- Purple Community Fund (Charity supporting families living on a dumpsite)
- Springboard Project in Horsham
Working in partnership with the Horsham Quakers, Carrie, Jill Shuker and a group of local volunteers have set up the Horsham Repair Cafe. Launched on 7th October, it will take place on the first Saturday of every month 10am – 12.30pm at the Quaker Meeting House, Worthing Road, Horsham, RH12 1SL, to learn more visit www.HorshamRepairCafe.org.uk.
Carrie and Sussex Green Living have won the following awards:
- Winner of Going Green Award at the Business Matters Awards in 2012 and 2013
- Runner up of the Going Green at the Southern Business Awards in 2012
- Winner of BBC Surrey & Sussex Community Heroes Green Champion Award 2015
- Shortlisted – WWF Earth Hour – Community Hero Award 2017 at the same awards ceremony in the Palace of Westminster, Her 9 year old son won the WWF Climate Challenge KS2 poster competition.
- Shortlisted – Business Green Leaders Awards – NGO of the Year 2017
- Winners of P.E.A. (People, Environment and Achievement) Green Family Award 2017
- Winners of WSCT Community – Friends of the Environment Award 2017 (Carrie and her 9 year old son)
In March 2016 Carrie travelled to Manila, Philippines to train with former Vice President Al Gore, Leading Climate Change scientists and communicators in the Climate Reality Leadership. She is now one of 11,000 activists in a global network committed to spreading awareness of the climate crisis and working for solutions to the greatest challenge of our time.
Repair Café Foundation
The Repair Café concept originated in the Netherlands in 2009, and was formulated by Martine Postma, at the time an Amsterdam-based journalist/publicist. In 2010, she started the Repair Café Foundation (see www.repaircafe.org). This foundation provides support to local groups around the world wishing to start their own Repair Café. The foundation also supports the Horsham Repair Café.