Today, a colleague and I spent the day volunteering at the Rockland Repair Café at the Rockland County Fire Training Center in Pomona, New York. We worked on older devices, got covered in ink, and helped with a repair that meant a great deal to someone who wanted to hear her best friend's voice again.
It was a welcome change of pace and a chance to give some time back to the community that supports us. Replacing something that breaks isn't always affordable. Sometimes a person just needs someone willing to take a look, figure out what's wrong, and give that item another chance.
We worked on quite a few things throughout the day, but two stories really stayed with me.
An old T-shirt printer and ink everywhere
One of our projects was an older DTF T-shirt printer, the kind that creates designs for transfer onto fabric. Dried ink had clogged the lines, so we worked on clearing them to get the printer running again.
That turned out to be a pretty messy job. In the process of blowing out the lines, we ended up with ink all over ourselves. Definitely one of those repairs you remember afterward.
As far as we could tell from our checks, the printer was back up and operational. I wouldn't call it brand new, but getting an older piece of equipment working again was a good result. It gave its owner a chance to keep using something they already had.
A tale of five voice recorders
A man and his son brought in four older voice recorders. Each one needed some attention, and we had a mix of results.
Two had corroded battery terminals. We cleaned them, but neither would turn on. We couldn't bring those two back that day.
With the other two, we had better luck. We were able to clean and repair the internal microphone in one, and restore the play and stop functions on the other. Two working recorders out of four was progress, even though we would have liked to fix all of them.
Then there was the fifth recorder.
A woman brought it in and explained that it had been given to her best friend a few months before that friend passed away. Now it wouldn't turn on. She wanted to hear her friend's voice again.
Knowing what was on that recorder made the repair feel very personal. You can buy another device. You can't replace a recording of someone you love.
We did everything we could to work out what had failed. After about 15 minutes of diagnosis, we identified the problem and handed the recorder to another volunteer who had the equipment to solder and test the motherboard, the circuit board inside the device.
He took it from there. About an hour later, the recorder was brought back to life.
I'm grateful we could help get that repair to the right person, and he deserves credit for the work that brought it across the finish line. It took people with different skills and equipment working together to give her a way to reconnect with a memory that mattered deeply to her.
That repair is going to stay with me.
Why we make time for this
At IT MGMT, we spend our days helping people with technology. Days like today are a reminder of how much can be tied to a single device: the cost of replacing it, the work someone uses it for, or the memories it holds.
Taking the time to listen matters. So does being honest when a repair doesn't work, and knowing when another person has the skills or equipment to help finish it. We saw all of that at the Repair Café today.
I want to thank Kathy Galione, who runs the Rockland Repair Café, for bringing everyone together and putting so much work into making this event happen. Thank you to my colleague, the volunteer who completed the recorder repair, and everyone else who gave their time and knowledge.
Events like this help keep useful things out of the waste stream, give older items another chance, and bring neighbors together. Sometimes they also help bring a memory back within reach.
If you're local, take a look at the Rockland Repair Café's information and upcoming events. You might have something that could use a repair, or a skill that could help someone else. Sharing the event with a neighbor is a good place to start, too.
I'm proud we could be part of today. A little time, some patience, and a willingness to help can make a real difference to the person sitting across the table.
Adam Gross · IT MGMT