Scottish Men’s Sheds Association and the Royal Voluntary Service hand in hand.
The Scottish Men’s Sheds Association (SMSA) and Royal Voluntary Service (RVS) have partnered up to support the growing needs of Scotland’s Men’s Sheds Movement. Requests have been received by the SMSA while on its Scottish Roadshows, training days and while doing presentations in sheltered housing complexes, we realised there are men who could thrive in a Men’s Shed but do not have the transport to get to them. Utilising the expertise, and grants available from Royal Voluntary Service volunteers throughout Scotland can be supported to set up local volunteer-led transport schemes to support their local communities. Every year, the Royal Voluntary Service volunteers provide around 87,000 journeys to hospital and GP appointments, to the shops or into town and now also to Men’s Sheds.
Josephine Mill, Royal Voluntary Service Interim Director, Scotland, said, “We are really excited about our new partnership and know our Volunteers can offer fantastic support to men in many communities across Scotland- not only to support the growth of Social Transport to Men’s Sheds but also in helping connect people in so many other ways to reduce loneliness and isolation. We encourage everyone to explore the opportunity of Volunteering with us so that more people can get out and about and involved with Men’s Sheds”.
The SMSA and RVS are creating opportunities together to help and support Scottish communities in new and creative ways. RVS and ASDA have created a new small grant fund to help support the set-up of community Shed spaces. The SMSA will promote this to their Shed members and at the same time encourage them to spread the word about the other partner support initiatives.
Jason Schroeder, Executive Officer of the SMSA said: ” this is the perfect union of two great organisations who have the wellbeing of our communities at heart and by utilising their unique attributes together a real issue around isolation and loneliness has been resolved.”
To find the Royal Voluntary Service in your area click on the link :
http://www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk/get-help/your-local-royal-voluntary-service/local-offices
Be sure to have a look at the SMSA online Shed Map to see if there is one in your area and we hope to see you in a Scottish Men’s Shed soon.