I'm an IT professional in the San Francisco Bay Area, currently at Genentech. Outside of work I run Repair Café of the Peninsula, where neighbors bring in broken things and volunteers help fix them.
I founded Repair Café of the Peninsula, a free volunteer-run event where neighbors bring broken household items to get fixed. Every repair keeps something useful out of the landfill.
We're officially a California nonprofit corporation and are in the process of applying for federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.
Visit the Repair Café website
If you own it, you should be able to fix it.
That means access to parts, tools and manuals. California's Right to Repair Act (SB 244, in effect since July 2024) requires manufacturers to make them available for many electronics and appliances.
Repair AssociationYour personal information is yours.
You should have a say in who collects it and sells it. One practical tool is California's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP), which lets residents send a single request asking 600+ data brokers to delete their personal information.
Try DROPKeeping products and materials in use longer through repair and reuse.
Instead of the usual "make it, use it, throw it away" cycle, a circular economy designs products to last and have their materials recovered.
EPA overviewOur parks, trails, and beaches stay healthy because people look after them.
You can help restore native habitat by pulling invasive plants and planting natives at a volunteer day. No experience is needed, and San Mateo County Parks provides the tools and training.
Volunteer days