Author: cmsadmin

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Meeting in the Park

Duncan & Paul

Coquitlam Men’s Shed Meeting of 11th. August.

This meeting was in Blue Mountain Park, the weather was beautiful and we were in the shade of the trees. What a pleasant setting.

Duncan & Paul
Duncan and Paul Carving wood

At this meeting we were joined by a new member, Paul Cook. Paul is a ham radio operator and he has invited us to have our next meeting at their facility on the Riverview grounds.

After brief introductions we got out the tools and started carving. Miraculously no blood was shed. Working at something while talking certainly adds a dimension to the meeting, I have the beginnings of a carved walking stick, Duncan has the beginnings of a spoon but I fear he may go hungry if he is expecting to use it any time soon. Paul didn’t divulge what he is creating. Thanks to Doug Mackies for the walking stick idea.

Mike carving a walking stick
Mike carving a walking stick

One nice thing about carving in the park was that we really didn’t have to do any clean up, just brushed everything onto the floor and you couldn’t tell the difference.

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Visit to Kawkawa Lake

View of the shed

Today the Coquitlam Men’s Shed went on a visit to the Men’s Shed at Kawkawa Lake near Hope, BC. It is situated on the East side of the lake, in a beautiful setting, amongst the trees.

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We were greeted by Fred, who took us around and showed us some great hospitality. Here is a view of the shed itself, with Mike and Fred.

View of the shedHere is a view of the inside:

Inside the men's shedNext, we went looking for some sticks for a walking stick project.  You can see Mike and Duncan standing next to an old growth tree in the area.

Old growth treeMike, you can’t have this one for a walking stick!

Mike cutting old growth tree to make a walking stickFred helped us select some maple boards from his collection.

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To Women

Men who are retired or are just getting started can go from working lives and good health to retirement and possibly poor health. They can experience sadness and depression that typically will go untreated. This is so because in large part, we men are less communicative about our problems than women.

If you know a man who is in this position and is floundering with what to do, please send him our way. The men’s shed is a place where he can find a new purpose in his life. Working together with others on worthwhile projects can help give new meaning in his life. It can improve his health and well being, and give him a support network.

Our men’s shed is new in Coquitlam, BC, and we are getting ourselves established. Which means the first worthwhile project is the men’s shed itself. Our first goal is to get enough members to create a society. Then we can go after funding and a regular place to meet.

If you don’t know what this is about, check out our [color-button href=’/links’]links[/color-button] section and learn more about the men’s shed movement. It really does make a difference in the lives of men. It could help the man in your life.

In talking with folks from another men’s shed, we learned the biggest source of new members is women, who care about their men. Thus our appeal here.

We are currently holding meetings every 2 weeks. We publish our meetings in advance on this site. You can either send him along or [color-button href=’/contact’]contact us[/color-button]

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Members of a men’s shed in Ireland
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CMS Roadmap

The hard part is getting our shed from zero to established, so here is a 4 step plan. Each step has a goal, and cannot be achieved until the previous step goal is achieved.

Shed plan

  1. First we need enough members to form a society. With 10 members, we have enough to move on to the next step.
  2. To form a society, there is some paperwork and $100. We will need to collect some minimal dues from each member at this point. We can also set up a bank account and start recording financial records.
  3. Once we are an official entity, we can go about applying for and obtaining funding. The majority of the operating costs are expected to come from funding and support. Keeping the membership dues low avoids discriminating against people on limited resources.
  4. With funding, we can proceed to obtaining a location.

Of course there are more details, which will be added as we get to them. But the key goals are as above.

Currently we are on step 1, and we need your help. We are [color-button href=’/membership-drive’]looking for members[/color-button]

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Membership Drive

members

We need a minimum of 5 members, $100 and a constitution to form a society. Once we are past that point we can set up a bank account and go after funding and secure a place for our shed.

If you are in the Tri-Cities area and you are interested in joining a men’s shed, or helping us get launched, please [color-button href=’/contact’]contact us[/color-button]

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Looking For a Place

Coquitlam Map

We are looking for a suitable place for our men’s shed in the Coquitlam area. It needs to be secure enough for storing projects and tools and such, and with enough space to work on multiple projects. If you have any suggestions, please [color-button href=’/contact’]contact us[/color-button]