Grantees 

See the Grants page for grant criteria, process and timing.
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Spring 2024

Berkeley Unified School District Climate Literacy Initiative and Middle School Makerspace Program
”Fix-It Fest and Makerspace Classes”
Berkeley, California

The BUSD Climate Literacy Initiative and Middle School Makerspace Program will collaborate to host community repair events at the district's three middle schools (September 26, November 16 and February 8). The "Fix-It Fests" will be the culminating events of week-long repair units in each of the schools’ Makerspace classes. Through hands-on experience with repairing items, including their own, this project will educate students and families on repair's role in environmental sustainability; teach strategies for approaching broken objects; and cultivate a sense of capacity to take care of our material world.

Barnard College - Columbia University
”Mend Like a Scientist”
New York, New York

Barnard College’s STEAM in the City program will develop the “Mend Like a Scientist Initiative” for K–8 science teachers in NYC schools. In a pop-up workshop, participants will utilize the scientific method to experiment with adhesion between different materials. The workshops serve a dual purpose: to mend damaged items at schools to divert waste from landfills, and to imbue learners with a scientific understanding of why unique properties of adhesives impact their ability to repair materials. The initiative includes the dissemination of “FixKits” with binding agents as well as an open-source curriculum on scientific method experiments in adhesive repair, published in their library of Teaching Resources.

SCRAP
”Sustainable Fashion Design”
San Francisco, California

SCRAP will expand its new Sustainable Fashion Design program in collaboration with youth-serving community-based organizations YMCA and San Francisco Unified School District. Geared to students ages 12-18 in under-resourced communities, the program focuses on how to look at fashion design through the lens of sustainability. The interdisciplinary fashion curriculum offers students a deep understanding of how the fashion industry impacts the environment; equips them with the vision and skills to mend, repair and construct garments, extending the useful life of their clothing as long as possible; and supports the development of their creative expression.

Robert C. Parker School, Woodland Hill Montessori School, and Rensselaer Repair Café, in Collaboration
”Fix Forward”
Rensselaer, New York

The Rensselaer Repair Cafe is partnering with the Robert C. Parker School and the Woodland Hill Montessori School to foster a repair mindset in K-8 schools. The project will prototype mobile repair platforms — Fix-it-Carts — that are equipped with child-friendly, age-appropriate tools and materials, organized to meet the needs of children, and functional in a school setting. Grantees plan to create and publish detailed and practical lesson plans, examples and ideas for repair projects, and Fix-it-Cart building plans and supply lists. In this way, Fix Forward will design opportunities for children to develop their interests, skills, and confidence as they become the repair champions of the next generation.

Rediscover Center and Los Angeles Public Library
”Garment Repair and Upcycling Workshops for Teens”
Los Angeles, California

Rediscover Center aims to bring fashion-forward upcycling and mending into libraries and similar public settings serving teens. In collaboration with the Los Angeles Public Library, Rediscover will develop workshop curriculum for garment repair, upcycling, and personalization. A package of materials that can be used to create teen-centered workshops in libraries and makerspaces will be published to Rediscover’s catalogue of online resources of teaching resources.

Randall Museum
”Fix-It Shop”
San Francisco, California

The Randall Museum will host a series of hands-on workshops on-site and at the Bayview Waterfront Park with the theme “Don’t trash it! Fix it!”. Every Friday will be "Fix-It Friday" during five weeks of this summer's Randall on the Road off-site program, with publicity principally targeting youth. Workshop participants will be encouraged to see how they can apply creativity, basic skills, and on-line research to fix and renew a wide variety of household items.

Fall 2023

High School of Fashion Industries and Repair Shop Collaboration
”ReGenerational Repair Certificate Seed Program”
New York, New York

With an objective of sharing vanishing couture repair and alteration skills, the collaboration will develop a multi-generational after-school program between fashion-focused high school students and NYC’s fashion industry experts and Garment District workers. The project will also serve as research for extending HSFI's sustainability program into a Repair Certificate. The initiative includes developing a training and toolkit for designing and facilitating accessible hands-on repair workshops.

The WasteShed
"Radical Mending at The WasteShed"
Chicago, Illinois

The WasteShed will develop a youth-and-child centered version of its established Radical Mending program, which teaches textile repair skills and garment-based problem-solving on Chicago's West Side. The project includes developing and publishing a Curriculum Guide for incorporating Radical Mending into the classroom.

WNC Repair Cafe
“Stitching Stuffed Animals”
Weaverville, North Carolina

In alliance with Triangle Repair Café
WNC Repair Café will develop a lesson plan for teaching 2nd-4th graders. The intention is to make abstract environmental issues concrete to students by connecting them with hands-on repair of their own stuffed animals. The project involves a series of workshops where sewing specialists guide young children through mending their stuffed animals. The objective is to create a successful program that can be easily replicated, using the materials the project develops and publishes.

“Riot Refurb” — South Portland High School
South Portland, Maine

This high school program will train students in repairing and repurposing computers for distribution in the under-resourced community. A Toolkit will be published online, along with curriculum resources to support other educators’ replicating the program.

Alfond Youth & Community Center
Combined Boys and Girls Clubs and YMCA
"Computer Club" for 3rd to 7th graders
Waterville, Maine

Alfond will expand its program for 3rd to 7th grade students and create teaching materials. The class teaches upcycling used computers, and learning about repair, self-sufficiency and environmental sustainability. Once repaired, computers will belong to the youth and their families in this under-resourced community. The initiative will create, document and publish a replicable model. As a combined YMCA and Boys and Girls Club, there's terrific promise for broad distribution across its network.

Spring 2023

Repair PDX
”Spreading Repair Culture”
Portland, Oregon

Repair PDX is collaborating with Environmental Promoters in developing an after-school high school program with a culturally inclusive curriculum. Environmental Promoters is an organization local to the school which is committed to repair, recycling and waste prevention. The project is a partnership with POIC/Rosemary Anderson, an alternative high school in an under-resourced, urban neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. Materials will be posted online.

Waste Loop
"Inspiring Communities to transform local 'waste' into sustainable resources."
Leavenworth, Washington

Waste Loop will collaborate with the Leavenworth school district to develop an after-school pilot program in a small, rural community.

"Repair:  Bring a Second Life to Objects"

CRP supported travel expenses for a workshop exploring repair as a part of the 6Rs — Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle — based on the Cultivating a Repair Mindset Toolkit. Offered by Aaron Vanderwerff and Erin Riley at FabLearn 2023. 

Long Term Projects

Agency by Design Oakland and MakerEd
“Cultivating a Repair Mindset Toolkit”

CRP supported the research and development of materials, and their publication and distribution: Created by educators for educators, the Toolkit builds on Maker-Centered Learning teaching and learning strategies, tools, and classroom materials (Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero). The Toolkit was designed to support students in developing a repair mindset: a way of approaching, thinking about and ultimately repairing what’s broken, including physical objects, relationships, and systems.

Agency by Design Oakland
”Cultivating a Repair Mindset” Workshops

CRP supported professional development workshops for teachers. The approach uses repairing objects as a gateway for examining social systems and power structures, identifying levers for change, and developing personal and communal agency to set things right. (See Toolkit description above.)

Girls Garage
”Fear Less Build More”

CRP supported design and construction workshops and programs for girls and gender-expansive youth. From the “Girls Garage” book: “An indispensable guide to building things, fixing things, and being a better, bolder version of yourself.”

The Crucible
”Make Something!”

Youth Repair and Building Programs
CRP supported youth bicycle repair and bicycle hacking/building programs; also welding programs for Oakland International High School students and Girls Inc. Alameda County.