Boomerang Youth Service and Drogheda & District Men’s Shed to work together
A visit to the Drogheda and District Men’s Shed out the Donore Road is always a life-affirming experience and it is one that young lads from the Boomerang Youth service will be experiencing soon.
Drogheda Life visited this morning to take some photos and the atmosphere of comradery was infectious. We were just about to take one of the photos when a call came from the direction of the car park “wait for me, won’t be a second!”
It was Jim Cahill arriving to check on the concrete path he laid yesterday before spending some time working in his allotment.
“No hurry Jim, take your time” came the response, followed by “Happy Birthday! Turned out that today is Jim’s 95th birthday!
Between them the Shed members would have hundreds, if not thousands, of years of life experience and the aim of a new project called “All About the Boys” is to bring the old boys and the young fellas together to learn from each other.
All about the Boys is open to young males aged from 12 to 16 years and a supportive male which could be their father, stepfather, grandfather, uncle, or older brother.
The programme will include building and design through carpentry and will also include sessions on:
- Building relationships
- Communications Skills
- Self-Care/Health Eating
- Drug & Alcohol Awareness
Boomerang Youth Officer, Ciaran Bellew, is shown the carpentry shop in the Drogheda and District Men’s Shed by Noel Sharkey.
The programme will be run from Monday 12th July to Friday 16th July from 10am to 5pm each day with a day of Outdoor Pursuits taking place on Saturday 18th July.
Each morning session will take place in the Boomerang Youth Centre in Fair Street Drogheda with the group then moving out to the Men’s Shed for the afternoon session of Building and Design.
Drogheda and District Men’s Shed will be welcoming back their members to their new location on Donore Road as soon as HSE Covid 19 guidelines allow, hopefully on July 5th. They host a range of opportunities for members to come together to learn, share skills and provides access to a range of activities such as woodwork, gardening and carpentry.
Shed Chairman Martin Rice told Drogeda Life that they are actively recruiting new members and anyone interested should get in touch by phone on 041-980 0078 or be email to droghedamenssheds@gmail.com
Boomerang’s Youth Officer, Ciaran Bellew, said they were delighted to form this connection with Men’s Shed and to benefit from their vast range of experience and expertise.
“Having access to their workrooms and facilities will allow the participants on the programme to build on their carpentry skills in a safe and supported space and produce a product to take home and showcase to their family.”
For full details please contact Ciaran on 083-30220181 or by email Ciaran.boomerang@gmail.com
The initiative is funded through the Healthy Ireland Fund and supported by the Louth Children’s & Young Persons Services Committee.
