Funeral home teams up with friends for fundraising scheme

A FUNERAL home has chosen to give a helping hand to older men in the town.

The Southern Co-op has teamed up with The Gosport Shed project – which provides workshop facilities and a meeting place for men in the town.

The news comes five years after the Southern Co-op helped to seed-fund the project, getting it off the ground.

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It was initially supported by the efforts of the Co-op and St Vincent College.

Fundraiser and PR officer for the Gosport Men’s Shed, Les Blackburn, said: ‘Our shed was established in 2013 because many older men find that retirement takes away most of our friends and our sense of purpose, leaving us vulnerable to physical illness and depression.

‘The Gosport Shed provides a new network of friends and a renewed sense of purpose – it’s a good reason to get up in the morning.

‘We were delighted when Southern Co-op selected us as their charity partner for 2018-19.

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‘We hope that we will soon be able to build a larger premises and this money will be so helpful in that effort, as well as helping to set up our new choir and ukulele band.’

Claire Cobb, from the Southern Co-op Funeral Home, said: ‘Having already helped to fund The Gosport Shed some years ago, we thought it would be great to link up with them again and provide more much-needed funds for their fantastic project.

‘We couldn’t be happier to be working with them and look forward to fundraising over the coming year.’