This year, for the first time since the Good Neighbour Awards launched 6 years ago we are thrilled to have two incomparably winners of Community Group of the Year .
This category celebrates the positive impact neighbours can have when they come together to support their communities, both emotionally and financially.
The 2024 Good Neighbour Award for Community Group of the Year is:
Repair Cafe Weymouth, Weymouth, Dorset
Founder Ros Dean started Repair Café Weymouth in 2019, shortly after moving to the area. She had not previously been involved in much locally and had posted the suggestion of a repair café after being inspired by those in the Netherlands, hoping that someone would take the idea and run with it. She received so much support from her community that she decided to move the idea forward herself.
Five years on, Repair Café Weymouth has been named our 2024 Good Neighbour Awards, Community Group of the Year. Responsible for around 2,500 repairs to date. Items repaired range from an 80-year-old music box to an animatronic triceratops that was fixed in time for Dinosaur Week in the Jurassic Coast town. There is no charge for repairs, just a request for a donation which goes to a local charity chosen by volunteers at their annual meeting.
On Repair Cafe Weymouth, founder Ros Dean said:
We don’t do it for the money, we do it because we can, and we love to see how happy people are. Around 13 million items that could have been recycled go to waste every year in the UK. We have got to stop throwing things away and make it the norm to buy repaired and reused goods.
