Forest of Dean & Wye Valley Men's Shed CIC

28 April 2021

Hello All.

We are a voluntary community group providing a social environment for wellbeing through shared creativity, in the Forest of Dean. We are a Community Interest Company.

We are looking for any potential site for development, conversion or refurbishment, ideally in the Parishes of West Dean, Coleford, Cinderford or Ruspidge & Soudley. We have been unsuccessful so far in finding a suitable building in the area and desperately need your help, to help others in need.

We have been operating out of a member's workshop, with limited capacity, for the past three years made good contacts and are now supporting the health service and other local community groups, as well as our members. However there many more people in this area who would benefit from this service, but we at capacity as we can only open one day a week.

We are members of the UK Men's Sheds Association, but we are fully inclusive, welcome all ages, men and women. We support primarily older, retired, isolated individuals, providing a safe, supportive, and friendly setting where they can socialise, learn new skills, and hone existing ones. Through the creation, upkeep and development of facilities men and women can now meet and jointly or individually undertake creative, physical and recreational activities of their choice and projects that support the community.

We also run activities off-site, offering hands-on experience to the public, and have supported other venues such as The Orchard Trust, Dean Heritage Centre, Festival Showcase, and Ross Hedgehog Festival. Our community work has included making raised flower beds for Cafe31, bench refurbishment for churches and gardens, school outside play areas, noticeboards for village centres and community halls.

We believe the participants in the Shed will benefit from improved self-esteem from using their skills for constructive purposes, have the opportunity to learn new skills and practice old ones, and have a place to go to spend time with people of similar interests, help them overcome isolation by getting out of the house and improve their social interaction, and enjoy an active healthy retirement.

We would also welcome a non-Executive Director to our Board. Please have a look at our website to see the full range of our activities and our success so far.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

Jane Trout (Secretary)

Member of The Dementia Action Alliance & UKMSA

Runner up 'Shed of the Year' in our first operating year

GloW partner - Committed to 'Positive actions for better mental healtW

Camellia Cottage Charleswood Road Whitecroft Gloucestershire GL15 4QH 01594 780170 mensshedwhitecroft@gmail.com www.forestmensshed.com

Notice Date: 16/05/2021