AN ABERAERON charity is trying to raise £5,000 to establish a ‘men’s shed’ in the own to get fellas together and socialise – whilst building projects for the community.

Ray Ceredigion is fundraising to set up a men’s shed where the Aberaeron crafts centre is today.

The ‘men’s shed’ brings men together to socialise, whilst taking part in a variety of workshop projects benefiting the local community.

Over the last 20 years, Ray Ceredigion has set up a variety of social groups such as the men’s social group, which support ‘the health and wellbeing’ of people in Ceredigion, but getting men to join a social group takes more than tea and coffee.

Ray Ceredigion sees the ‘men’s shed’ giving men that extra incentive to take part in the social group, by offering them an ‘active’ element.

Ray’s Executive Officer, Gill Byrne, said: “Men don’t tend to come to coffee mornings to chat, but if there’s an active element to it, they’re more likely to come along.

“We attracted a lot of men when we launched our repair cafe offering free repair services for a variety of broken items. The repair cafe is what led to the formation of our men’s group.

“The group tried to launch a men’s shed in their current site in Pengloyn, Tabernacle Street.

“They haven’t got the space to set up a men’s shed where they are now, it was designed for our staff to do little D.I.Y projects with one or two people working on them at a time. They’re really restricted on what they can do and can only take on small projects.

“That’s the real benefit of the place we’re looking at, it’s four times bigger, and they can advertise there with signs and outdoor displays with tables and chairs, they can open it seven days a week if they want to be there.”

Pete volunteered to take part in the repair cafes so that he could make new friends when he moved to the area last year, but felt it wasn’t enough to form ‘proper bonds and friendships.’

He said: “The repair cafe isn’t enough, it’s hosted once a month, and that doesn’t give you enough chances to form bonds and friendships. What we need is something we can host one or two days a week.

“We’re all about bringing men together, making them a part of a community. Having that extra space will allow us to expand our membership and give us the space to run our own workshop, as well as somewhere to make our own teas and coffees!

“We also want to offer training to young people which would allow them to do these things themselves.”

To donate or find out more, visit the Ray Ceredigion's GoFundMe page here.