Charity Focus – Men in Sheds
The UK Men’s Sheds Association provide support and guidance to individuals and groups across the UK in starting and managing Men’s Sheds.
Men’s Sheds (or Sheds) are similar to garden sheds – a place to pursue practical interests at leisure, to practice skills and enjoy making and mending. The difference is that garden sheds and their activities are often solitary in nature while Men’s Sheds are the opposite. They’re about social connections and friendship building, sharing skills and knowledge, and of course a lot of laughter.
Sheds reduce loneliness by 96%, anxiety by 75% and depression by 89% according to a survey of 500 Shedders in 2018, we are currently supporting more research, particularly post lockdowns. There are now over 750 open Sheds in the UK and a further 200 in development.
Sheds are whatever the members want them to be. Although labelled sheds, they can be empty offices, portable cabins, warehouses, garages, and in at least one case, a disused mortuary.
The Association promotes the Men’s Sheds movement so as many people as possible know about them. The organisation aims to ensure that Men’s Sheds is a household name so that every man knows what they are and how to find one.
In 2022 we donated £500 in support of the charity’s Membership Development Function. This is the first stop shop for the general public to find out about Sheds and for members to get support for their Shed. This support varies from accessing resources on the running of a Shed or developing a new Shed through to access on health and wellbeing resources.
Email received from Charlie Bethel, Chief Officer of the UK Men’s Sheds Association: “Thank you very much for your support. This support has made a big difference to our work and the transformational power of Men’s Sheds adding years to life and life to years.”
