The Burns Lake Men’s Shed Society will hold its first general meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29 in the Burn’s Lake Curling lounge. On the agenda for the first meeting, finding a permanent location.
“We’re going to strike a committee to find an actual Men’s Shed,” said Darryl Hutcheon. He is one of the three volunteer directors for Burns Lake Men’s Shed, along with Mark McLoughlin and Linda Uchacz.
Men’s Shed is a non-profit group that provides supportive and inclusive spaces for men to foster community through skill-sharing, shop activities and community projects. The Burns Lake chapter will be the fifty-first Men’s Shed in the province. “Sheds” can be anywhere, but Hutcheon said the best locations have two things in common.
“A men’s shed is centered on, basically a tool room and a coffee bar associated with it,” Hutcheon said. In Fraser Lake, the Men’s Shed is located inside of a store.
There are a variety of activities offered on the Men’s Shed webpage, but Hutcheon said it’s the camaraderie that’s important in places like Burns Lake.
“It’s an aging population,” Hutcheon said. “It’s for the later generation. Guys have some place to go and something to do.”
The focus for each Men’s Shed is different, but community projects are common. Hutcheon said that some chapters do volunteer repairs. In Fraser Lake they run a yard sale with restored donations.
“In Vanderhoof they build rafts for the lake shore,” Hutcheon said.
Burns Lake Men’s Shed will strike a second committee at it’s first meeting on May 29, to apply for grant funding that could help with finding a permanent location.
“We’ve actually received about $2,000 worth of equipment from Vanderhoof,” Hutcheon said. “We need some place to plug it in.”
HelpAge Canada has already provided some start up funding for the Burns Lake Men’s Shed Society.
Hutcheon said Mayor Henry Wiebe was instrumental in bringing Men’s Shed to Burns Lake. Wiebe contacted Jan Fennema, President of the Men’s Shed Association of British Columbia about setting up the first meeting. Wiebe also found the temporary space for hosting meetings at the Curling Lounge.
Wiebe took a moment to thank the volunteers who helped open the Burn’s Lake Men’s Shed Society during Thursday’s committee meeting for the Regional District of Bulkley Nechako (RDBN).
Men’s Shed was started in Australia in 1998, but traces its roots to similar organizations in the 1970’s and ‘80’s. The Australian Men’s Shed Association reports that today there are over 2,500 Men’s Shed locations around the world.
“The feeling there was that the old man felt best in his shed,” Hutcheon said. “We used that as a sort of starting point.”
For more information about starting a Men’s Shed, or joining an existing shed, visit the Men’s Shed Association of British Columbia webpage.
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