Pitching in to Help Make the “Jigsaw of Community”

Jigsaws can tell us a lot about community. Revealing techniques that can be used to build a resilient community.

• Jigsaw resilience comes from there being irregularly interlocking pieces. In the plane of the jigsaw as the pieces come together, the jigsaw grows stronger and holds together without the need for glue known in the business world as contracts!
• There are then strategies to find pieces that fit. In a 1000 piece jigsaw when two random pieces are taken, there is a 1 in 999 chance of the two fitting together. The odds are too great to make this a viable approach without driving you mad!
• The odds need to be reduced, 
  • Separate the “straights” or in this case the circle perimeter
  • Then begin to connect them according to colours, features and of course interlocking shapes
  • That outer edge provides a guiding framework to roughly locate pieces with the aid of the picture on the jigsaw box
  • Identify areas of a particular colour, pattern or texture and begin to collect them in groups face up on a flat surface to survey them
  • Begin to create small connected groups – like little islands in the jigsaw sea!
  • Gradually add new islands, enlarge existing one and if possible interconnect the islands with linear “causeways”. 
  • Keep adding from the pool of unused jigsaw pieces and be determined to complete the challenge!
• So, what’s the analogy between jigsaws and communities?  
  • Norton Men’s Shed is a micro community, a family, of people drawn together for a shared reason – largely for camaraderie and mental health wellbeing. We are a little island of individual jigsaw pieces that somehow fit together.
  • Norton Sports Charity is another island of people who manage,maintain and promote it. Another passionate family!
  • Helen Deehan (and Jamie) are slowly building another island of people who want to contribute to and benefit from the Garden project across the railway. Another family, but possibly with some family members in common. No project is an island!
  • Then the islands begin to be connected with those causeways. Paths that individuals may cross to have a presence on more than one island.
  • And then maybe a causeway is replaced by a more convenient bridge between islands, built from each end and springing from strong abutments. With that going on in other island pairs, a network of roads and bridges is gradually established.
• Maybe now you can see the analogy with the jigsaw. Our Shed has benefitted in the past from the islands of Helen Deehan and Norton Sports Charity. We have been a benefit to them. What is the likelihood of us continuing to have open trade routes? Very high.

Here are some islands and causeways that have been established recently; indeed even this past week.

Norton Shed <> Billingham Buccaneers 

Last year veteran boat builder and Shedder Walter Snowdon constructed the Miss Conduct for ice hockey team Billingham Buccaneers, to be used for fundraising purposes during games. That opportunity came via the Norton Sports Charity as intermediaries. Now we are to benefit from a charity game this weekend as a chosen charity.

To add some cream, the Buccaneers have visited the Shed and video interviewed some Shedder “jigsaw pieces”. Videos are being dripped out one a day on Facebook and are available below to view .

IF THE VIDEO CLIPS DO NOT OPEN, please click on the words “Video on Facebook” 

North East Ladies Day (NELD) Spring Event attended by Steve and Graham

There were 4 men (including the two of us) and 160 women at the event which included a lunch, fashion show and two short speeches from us and from another men’s mental health charity. Why were we there? Because we wanted to inform the assembled throng about the role and purpose of the Shed and to thank them for the donation of £1000 towards the cladding of our Portacabin Shed. We even took Cavalry Kevin’s model with us as a visual aid. 

It was a wonderful event which provided both men’s mental health charities with the opportunity to sit with each other (for mutual support?) but, more importantly, to meet some of the 160 ladies present.

We discovered at our table of 8 (number 13!)  two other islands that Steve and Graham could readily relate to, 3 in all.

1. NE Ladies Day Carol Heslehurst (head turned away in the photo!) who had visited Norton Men’s Shed a week before. The event was inspirational and led to some fresh ideas for our Shed, not least to build upon the importance of being outwardly focused. The networking potential was such a valuable feature, so thank you Ladies and particularly Carol. Thanks too for the financial gift.
2. Tom Judge, founder of First Contact UK Mental Health. More information later but you could look at www.firstcontactukmentalhealth.com to read more now. Expect a visit from Tom very soon. We identified ways that we might work together to highlight men’s mental health in different but very complementary ways.
3. Sue Storey, a trustee of Thorntree Community Farm near  Stokesley. It is a residential facility for adults with learning difficulties. The potential collaborative (jigsaw causeway) opportunity might be to help practically, in particular to erect a kit summer house as an additional break out space for residents.
   The Farm lost various activities residents benefitted from due to a service provider withdrawing and residents miss the programs provided.
   They need to restore sensory area and animal therapy shelters, for instance. “Creating new opportunities for growth, healing and joy for those who call Thorntree Farm a home.”  ~
   Reminds us perhaps of Anthony’s Man Cave two years ago.

Another style of egg cup

Pitching for Purpose

Paul and Graham attended a briefing and run-through of our planned pitch for a share on £5000 (there are 5 other very varied projects). It a a form of Dragon’s Den but is intended to be fun and in front of an audience of up to 150 on Thursday 27th March in the evening. There were 3 staff of The Teesside Charity there seated opposite on the other side of a boardroom table. All designed to relax us!

Anyway, all went well in the rehearsal and we were asked to retain the banter Paul and Graham exchanged. It should not be difficult because Wheelchair Steve will be there too. The Three Musketeers.  Well, they must get there, not here, next Thursday.

There are still tickets available to attend at £12, to include pizza and a soft drink.

A visual reminder that Men’s Sheds Save Lives 

From Football Pitch to Pitch for Purpose

The challenge is to get the essence of the Shed over in 6 minutes, making it punchy and entertaining!  That’s the spec we have been given by The Teesside Charity. It’s been fun working with Paul, Steve and Graham working together on this. Just got to wait for Thursday evening 27th March.

IN SUMMARY

This blog has been about the importance of connections because Norton Men’s Shed (for women too!) AND other grass roots, volunteer dependent, people helping initiatives are a PART of a much bigger community wellbeing NEED and CHALLENGE.

We met Tom Judge at the NEL:D Ladies Day and he with others is building a strategy to help men’s mental health that has precisely the same purpose as us but done in a rather different way. We are both part of the Teesside patchwork including projects such as Andy’s Man Club and branches of national charities like MacMillan Cancer Support. 

This blog is intended to HIGHLIGHT the importance of knowing others who operate in different ways in the BIG community space. Together we can HIGHLIGHT the worth of what is done by untrained but equipped volunteers to SPEAK and DO to action the fact that PEOPLE are important as INDIVIDUALS, not just statistics. They have an important role in HELPING THEMSELVES and OTHERS through difficult life events.

Professionals have very important roles (rightly so) BUT so does our Teesside voluntary sector. 

The BIG BANNER (might have it at Thursday’s Pitch for Purpose) was done for Whitby and Norton Sheds to use at events, and indeed any other Shed because it is generic. Who did our Sheds relate to and work with as they were established, as they grew and will need to be important in the future. 

They are islands and jigsaw clumps that need to be joined up for our good, their good and people’s good. 

When Walter did the Buccaneers’ Galleon it was done to help a part of our community thrive – those who skate on thin ice! Nearly a year later they have done us a favour through an intermediary at Norton Sports Charity. Is it a “Trumpian” transactional arrangement? No it is a story of two forces working in ways to benefit our community and to send ripples out wider nationally through those we work with including in our case the UK Men’s Sheds Association, visiting politicians (who come for more than a photo opportunity but to listen and learn), the NHS (and particularly to recognise Social Prescribing Link Workers as a causeway (!), and a whole host of others including other charities, businesses and voluntary sector bodies like Catalyst and the County Community Foundations.

All can take credit for what is happening but there is still a lot to be done for people . . . .  so pitch in!