$1,000 Green Grant Awarded to Upper Tennessee River Roundtable

In an effort to encourage reusing and fixing items that are owned, instead of throwing the item away, the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable will host a Fit-it-fair with funds awarded as part of our 12th Annual Green Grants Program.

The Upper Tennessee River Roundtable provides environmentally beneficial programs to a wide range of communities ranging from cities to rural counties.  They will organize the Fix-it-fair in partnership with Keep Southwest Virginia and the Clinch Valley Soil and Water Conservation District at the local farmers’ market in Russell County.

The event would have “fixers” for mending, furniture repair, small appliance repair, electronic repair, bike repair, handyman, and jewelry repair.  Community members will sign up for time slots online and bring their items in during that time on the day of the event.  Repairs will be made at no cost to the residents.

Green Grant funds will be used to offer a small stipend to those who are repairing items, as well as costs of signage and repair supplies.

Repairing items gives people a chance to hold on to items that have sentimental value, or ones that have a second life in them, and it avoids those items being added  unnecessarily to the landfill.  The area in Southwest Virginia has a strong community with a love for things with historical significance and fixing things in creative ways so, it is expected that the community would celebrate this event wholeheartedly.

We look forward to seeing how many items can be saved by skilled “fixers” and hope to share pictures of this great community event!  Congratulations and good luck!