Volunteers Week Blog: Shedders volunteer to tackle PPE shortage for key workers

Image Copyright: Bill McBurnie Photography, Jedburgh. Mob: 07740720063

While most are retired from their day jobs, volunteers from Men’s Sheds have found a critical role in supporting health and other key workers.

When the coronavirus outbreak began, most sheds across Scotland closed their doors to protect older and more vulnerable members.

But when Borders shedders heard that frontline key workers were short of personal protective equipment (PPE), they were determined to answer the call to help. They have used donated materials to produce thousands of plastic face visors for workers across the region and beyond.

Ross Hall, a former police officer and Borders Men’s Shed Coordinator, said: “We suspected the official supply chain would be under stress and that care workers and care homes might be forgotten in the rush to supply the NHS. So after a brief discussion we decided that where it was safe to do so and following Government guidelines we could help out.

“We had the skills, retired tradesmen, craftsmen and women, technician - all volunteers. We had the premises and the workshops so it was time to stand up and be counted.

“Our Men's Shed mantra is to stand ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ in the face of adversity, so we did just that.”

While not all sheds could manage the project safely, Gala Men’s Shed has a double “portacabin” type building on the outskirts of Galashiels, enabling a small team of Shedders to follow simple physical distancing measures.
Despite the name, many women are part of the Shed movement and the group includes a husband and wife team.

They chose an open source design which they could make quickly and inexpensively. After an initial funding application was turned down, they set up a GoFundMe page and turned to the public to help. Getting the word out via local media and social media, they were overwhelmed by the generous response and met their initial target of £1000 in five days.

Ross said: “People donated in bucket loads: elastic, foam, plastic, all the materials we needed to start with and crucially, start-up funding. I will be eternally grateful to each and every one who helped us out.

“We knew our version was not officially part of the supply chain so we couldn't approach the NHS. But we were getting requests from doctors’ surgeries, nurses, social workers, all of whom we helped out. Care workers, health visitors , chemists, osteopaths, cleaners, shop workers, home helpers… we turned no-one away.”

They supplied them free to individuals, asking companies that could afford it for a £1 donation per visor to cover materials. The group even sent visors to care homes in Northumbria that were desperately short of supplies.

Similar projects in Selkirk and Coldstream also saw shedders distributing hundreds of similar visors made in their own homes.

The Shedders have now received an award of £5000 from the Community Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund, enabling them to continue their lifesaving work.

They’ve also been working with seven-year-old Grace Broadhead, a local girl who ran an incredible full-length marathon to raise money for PPE equipment, and her parents. Grace had seen stories on the news about the tragic impact of coronavirus in care homes, and was determined to help.

Ross said: “Grace's efforts touched our hearts at the Shed. When she phoned up and tried to purchase face visors from us we turned her down and instead donated 500 re-usable visors.

“Our Government is doing its best but they are overstretched. We will continue this project until we are no longer needed. Please support your local Men's Shed - we are the ‘Old Yins’ in the background doing our bit quietly.”