The team at Retirement Living community Yelland Place in Tadley, Hampshire, has donated £500 to a vital community resource in the town, Tadley Men’s Shed.
Set up in January 2021, Tadley Men’s Shed provides support and a safe and friendly meeting place for local people who might otherwise find themselves isolated and lonely. Located at St Mary’s Church on Newchurch Road, members are encouraged to pursue practical interests and enjoy ‘making and mending’, with further opportunities to be part of creative projects individually, jointly, or for the benefit of the wider community.
However, it's only recently that the group has acquired its own space, having spent the last two years fundraising as part of their fortnightly meetups at Tadley United Reformed Church. Prior to that, members met via Zoom, helping people to stay connected during the height of the pandemic.
Now happily settled in their new home, members of the Tadley Men’s Shed have been busy installing workshop machinery, additional power points and safety equipment, along with an access ramp and path – but with that, funding has worn thin.
Wanting to give back to the local community, the McCarthy Stone Foundation donated £500 to support its endeavours to bring people together and foster connection.
Paul Goss, Chairman at Tadley Men’s Shed, said: “We can’t thank McCarthy Stone enough for their generous donation, which came at just the right time, as our existing funding had almost completely run out. Tadley Men’s Shed has become a key part of the community, working closely with a number of schools and groups to provide support and create a safe and fun environment in which to share skills and try something new.”
“As our Portacabin is quite restricted on space, we’re hoping to install various fixtures and fittings that can be pulled out from the wall to allow us enough room to use the machinery. Using the donation from McCarthy Stone, we can purchase the materials and equipment we need. This means we can provide members with a better equipped facility, which will ultimately help them with their own projects, as well as those that will benefit the Tadley community.”
Head of McCarthy Stone Foundation, Graeme Marsh, comments: “Supporting and engaging with the communities close to our developments is a key focus at McCarthy Stone and we are delighted to lend a helping hand to Tadley Men’s Shed, which has been a prominent feature in the town since its setup in 2021.“
“As a company specialising in the development of friendly and welcoming communities for retirees, the happiness and welfare of older people is at the heart of everything we do. This makes initiatives such as this a great fit for us. We look forward to seeing the Men’s Shed continue its work in supporting the wider community through its range of activities.”
Designed to meet the specific needs of the over 60s, Yelland Place comprises 42 one-bedroom and two-bedroom retirement apartments along with state-of-the-art facilities to create a unique brand of retirement living in the local area with independence and community at its heart.
