By now, we hope you have concluded that what Men's Sheds do is important to our members and to our communities.

You might even be moved to ask how you can help.

Some things are obvious, but many are not, so let's talk about a few:

Sheds are a collection of mostly retired guys, some of whom were forced to retire earlier than planned due to accidents, premature but late-in-life layoffs, etc.

What is common among our members is they have the following:
- time available,
- a lifetime of experience to share,
- some skills and a bit of wisdom to offer,
- but no forum in which to share it.

Sheds give us a forum to make friends, share skills, do good work for the community, avoid depression from loneliness and feel useful again.

We are the product of our time.
When our personalities were formed 6 to 8 decades ago, society had different expectations. We were taught: "Be a Man," don't complain, suck it up, overcome hardships and get it done. We were taught to suffer quietly, to show no weakness, and to be the protectors and providers of our families. As a result, reduced capacity and engagement do not sit well with us.

We are uncomfortable admitting, even to ourselves, that we need help. We are even more uncomfortable asking for help. It makes us cringe to sit in a circle and share our feelings. That sort of therapy does not work for us. Instead, we need to work with other men on a shared project and, through that shared work, share a bit of ourselves, slowly, reluctantly and painfully.

Sheds are our therapy, where we are more able to care for ourselves. For example, provide us with an old building, and we will fix it up to our needs. We will populate it with used tools and then rebuild things from old wood and cast-off products.

Sheds are usually cash-poor and capacity rich.
For most Sheds, it is the lack of a place to build the workshop that holds us back. If we can use an old building, we will take care of the rest ourselves.

You can help our Shed
- Point us to that unused old shack or connect us with the keepers of those facilities.

- Spread the word of the Men's Shed movement, so Men who want it can find an existing Shed or form one of their own with a bit of encouragement from Men's Sheds Ontario.

- Send Sheds socially positive projects that need doing and are within our capacity to deliver.

- Donate your unused tools or surplus building materials to our cause.

- Help yourself. Come join us when the time is right for you.

- Send a little cash.