It was a case of déjà vu as Banff, Macduff and District Men’s Shed celebrated the return of the esteemed Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) targe trophy after being announced as ‘Scottish Men’s Shed of the Year’ for the second year in a row.
The announcement was made by the SMSA – the national support hub for 200+ Scottish Shed groups and Scotland’s largest member-led men’s health and wellbeing charity – at its 10th anniversary celebrations and awards ceremony in Perth earlier this month which also featured a day of learning and networking for guest Sheds from all across the country.
Also reaching the final were Maryburgh Men’s Shed who claimed the silver trophy and Breadalbane Men’s Shed took bronze along with a wealth of prizes for all three finalists including cash prizes from the national Association – from Shed membership fees to give back to Sheds – and vouchers, discounts and goodies to help with the day-to-day running of the Sheds.
SMSA CEO Jason Schroeder travelled to hand-deliver the unique trophy – now engraved forever marking Banff, Macduff and District Men’s Shed as the 2024 winner – to the Banff Shedders at their premises on Fife Street to proudly display for another twelve months. Shed Chairman Bob Copland said: “We really didn’t expect to win again but we are absolutely thrilled! Out of over 200 Scottish Men’s Sheds eligible to apply for these awards, we are immensely proud to say the least to receive this recognition for the difference our Shed volunteers are making in our local community.
“We congratulate the other Shed finalists, Maryburgh and Breadalbane. The most important part of this process is not the winning but of raising awareness of what the Men’s Shed model is all about and the impact it has on the men in our local communities. We would also like to encourage other Scottish Men’s Sheds to apply next year, we have got so much out of winning – the whole awards process has really raised our Shed’s profile both locally and nationally and we have even had motions in parliament, not to mention that the accolade has aided our funding applications. But the biggest and best added bonus is that we have recruited a lot of new members, as a result of people hearing about our success, and we are extremely grateful for that.
“A huge thing for us is really driving it home that Sheds are not just for retired men. Often, we hear from local men that they are not old enough to attend the Shed but we stress that it is an age 18+ model and offer activities to attract more young men with time on their hands along. Let’s continue doing what we are doing – it obviously works – and aim to reach even more men to encourage them to head to the Shed and check it out for themselves.”
Mr Schroeder said at the trophy presentation: “Banff, Macduff and District Men’s Shed are the first former winner to ever reapply and we are delighted that they did and they really got their community behind them as evidenced in the public vote. When we launched these awards back in 2019, it was never about winning – every Shed is a winner in terms of the array of health and wellbeing benefits they can deliver to the men in their local community. The purpose of the awards is not to say one Shed is better than another – they are all unique and life-changing in their own way. The aim is to raise awareness, celebrate, recognise and reward Scottish Men’s Shed volunteers for the work they are carrying out to improve the quality of life of men and the impact that they are making in their local communities.”
Also present at the trophy presentation were pupils from the local academy who have all selected the Shed to support through this year’s Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Scotland – a programme which aims to raise awareness of social issues and local charities and engages students to develop skills and confidence through a contextualised learning experience. The Banff Academy pupils, who attended the event during their summer holidays, chose to champion their local Men’s Shed through their teams as part of the unique programme of teamwork and research. One team took the opportunity to interview Mr Schroeder as part of their presentation that will be shown at the finals. They have already made it through to the semi-finals and if one of the teams representing the Shed goes on to win, the Shed will be awarded a grant of £3,000.
Along with the title and trophy, Banff, Macduff and District Men’s Shed receives prizes and discounts including a £500 unrestricted cash prize from the SMSA (paid for through SMSA shed membership fees); a £150 voucher from Axminster Tools; a £250 voucher from Scotmid Co-operative to keep the members going for a while in tea and biscuits; a free Machine Competency and Woodwork training day from David Young Training worth £638; and a year’s free accounts package from Thyme Accountants worth £360 to support the group’s treasurer.
Head to the Shed – find the Shed closest to you at https://scottishmsa.org.uk/find-a-shed
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