Hawaii Men’s Shed
Posted by Mary Sears on Mar 28, 2017
Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset’s new Rotary Community Corps
It’s official! The Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset has just chartered their first Rotary Community Corps, The Hawaii Men's Shed Association. You may wonder, “What IS a Rotary Community Corps?”
A Rotary Community Corps (RCC) is a team of nonRotarian men and women who are committed to their community’s long-term development and self sufficiency. An RCC is sponsored by a Rotary club and is one of Rotary’s partners in service. The main principle of the RCC program is to enable its members to personally address and solve problems of concern within their community. They carry out creative and sustainable solutions to address community issues.
The Hawaii Men's Shed Association is just such an organization. A 501(c)3, the Men’s Shed provides seniors, mostly men, with a meeting place equipped with tools and supplies for woodworking and other activities of interest to it’s members. Men join to follow their own interests and wind up making friends, discussing health issues and spending creative time with others.
On average, women outlive men by several years. Once they retire, men often become isolated, lonely, bored and inactive with the resulting unattended health issues. Men’s Sheds address these problems by offering senior men a reason to get out of the house and become active, creative and healthy in a social environment.
That is why we, the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset are strong supporters of the Men’s Shed and have sponsored the Hawaii Men’s Shed Association since it’s inception in January of 2016. Ours is the first Men’s Shed in Hawaii; indeed the first Men’s Shed in the United States. There are almost 2000 Men’s Sheds worldwide and we anticipate seeing a flowering of Men’s Sheds in Hawaii and around the United States in the years to come.The Hawaii Men’s Shed Association has prepared a presentation. They welcome invitations to speak at Rotary club meetings on Oahu. Their presentation is informative. You will see the purpose, value, and history of the Men’s Shed movement and learn how to sponsor Men’s Sheds elsewhere on the island. If your club is interested, please contact Glenn Sears at gsears@stanfordalumni.org.