Felixstowe Men’s Shed is a charitable organisation that aims to make DIY a communal rather than solitary activity. Men’s Sheds are all about social connections, building friendships and sharing knowledge. Formed in January 2018, the charity helps give people new skills by getting stuck into community projects around the county.

Felixstowe Men’s Shed is just one of 592 sheds operating in the UK, helping to benefit over 14,000 families by helping reduce loneliness. Although labelled sheds, groups often make use of empty offices, portacabins and warehouses. Here members get involved with everything from woodwork to metalworking or even car building. These activities, when done together, help to undo the negative impacts of isolation.

In Felixstowe, the charity’s recent activities highlight just how diverse their projects are.  In Autumn 2021, the organisation helped Languard Fort Trust by constructing rakes and aircraft location markers for their WW2 Anti-Aircraft Operations Plotting Room. In another project of April this year, they completed a project to help prepare the conversion of St Philip’s Church in Felixstowe into a Community Hub. In these ways, Felixstowe Men’s Shed is helping to protect everything from our history to our communities throughout Suffolk.

Suffolk Community Foundation’s financial support has allowed the organisation to continue offering its vital services to its members and beneficiaries. Operating from its own premises in Trimley St. Mary, Felixstowe Men’s Shed only charges members enough to cover its own costs. The grant awarded by the Foundation will allow the organisation to improve its workshop, allowing it to help its members acquire further skills in a purpose-built space. With this support, the charity hopes to grow its membership more than ever before.