Mahopac High School encourages students to connect the lessons they learn in the classroom with the real world, and that's exactly what the National German Society did at Putnam County's first Repair Café.
According to Sustainable Putnam's website; "a Repair Café is an event where anyone can bring a broken but beloved item for a free repair. Visitors are expected to stay, perhaps enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, and learn about repairs with the help of an expert Repair Coach."
The cafes are run by volunteers who want to help people learn how to maintain and fix things, rather than throw them away. Katrina Bauerlein's German 3, College German, and AP German students have been learning about the environment and sustainability in the German-speaking world. The repair cafe provided members of the National German Honor Society with a chance to see sustainability in practice. The students even volunteered their own time at the event, acting as hosts, helping bring items in, directing the public, and serving refreshments.