Port Townsend, Washington

JeffCo Repair, a program of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (identified from the book text; the manifest leaves organization blank)

Problem

Elders hold deep skills, local history, and life lessons—but much of it goes unshared. Youth miss role models and practical know-how; the community loses living memory.

Solution

JeffCo Repair is a free volunteer repair-event program sponsored by the Port Townsend Marine Science Center with Local 20/20's Beyond Waste action group, restarted in 2022 on a Washington Department of Ecology Public Participation Grant after a 2020 repair cafe. Events rotate through Port Townsend, Port Hadlock (Jefferson County Library), Brinnon, Quilcene and the county fairgrounds under posted ground rules (two items per person, bring parts). The program reported 372 items repaired by early 2024 and 1,049 by 2026 (self-reported), opened a community tool library at the fairgrounds in July 2025, and ran teen Xbox 360 repair classes with the Port Townsend Public Library in January 2024 and January 2025. No source describes the ages of the volunteer fixers.

Patterns used: Elder Mentorship Circles

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