Representatives from the county, the town, and Family and Community Support Services had an opportunity to tour the new Men’s Shed workshop last week.
Men’s Shed is an organization that first started in Australia. The purpose of the group was to bring men together to build things and socialize with the idea that men don’t talk face-to-face; they talk shoulder-to-shoulder. There are currently 3,000 chapters around the world. Canada has 300, and Alberta is home to 30 of those. The Drayton Valley is one of the most recent additions to the program.
Larry James, the vice president of the Drayton Valley Chapter, Wendell Smith, the treasurer for the chapter, along with other founding members, gave dignitaries the tour of their new space.
“FCSS granted $7,500 to this project this year,” says FCSS program manager Jennifer Fynn. “It aligns provincial prevention priorities of aging well in the community, belonging, mental health and wellness.”
James says the group first started operating out of one of the member’s garages. Men would meet there on Wednesday evenings to work on different projects and visit. If they weren’t up to working on projects, they would sometimes just play card games.
He says the group first learned about the Men’s Shed program at the Rotary Club’s Mental Health Symposium last February.
“That’s how we learned about it. We gathered a bit of information. We started meeting in (a) garage for a few months and did a fair little bit of work there, got to know each other,” says James.
This last summer, the chapter leased a shop at 5450 55 Street, just north of the MNP building. Over the past few months, the men have been working on fundraising projects and fixing up the shop to make it a comfortable, welcoming space for people.
The funding from FCSS will be used to cover some of their expenses, but the Chapter also plans to cover their own expenses with fundraisers.
Their largest fundraiser this year is flagpole rentals. Starting right after Victoria Day, the members rented out flag poles that they had built along with a Canadian flag. For only $75, residents and businesses could rent a pole until the fall. Some even requested to rent it year-round, opting to pay an additional $75. The group has also built and rented out ski racks for the Pembina Nordic club.
James says they are raising funds to help cover the cost of rent, materials, and possibly some tools, though they had many donated to them from another chapter located in Spruce Grove.
“They have been helpful to us in terms of [explaining] ‘How do you do this?’, ‘How do you do that?’” says James.
James says their members each bring different skill sets to the group, and they all can learn from each other. The age range of the ten members is 18-80-years-old. Their youngest member has aspirations of being a welder and decided to join to get some experience.
The group meets every Wednesday from 3 to 5 p.m. at their shop. Members also sometimes do drop-ins at the shop to work on projects.
James says men who are 18 or older are all welcome to become a member of the chapter at no cost.
James says they would welcome donations of tools or materials on a case-by-case basis due to storage constraints.
Those looking for more information on the organization can visit www.albertamenssheds.ca or the Drayton Valley website at https://firebirdkash77.wixsite.com/drayton-valley-men.
