Mission Shoulder to Shoulder

Men’s Sheds members (Shedders) across the UK are on a mission to create and install unique buddy benches in their communities, to help facilitate the chance conversations that can brighten a day – or even change a life. Inspired by how their own work-benches help create bench buddies every day, at Sheds across the UK.

Facilitated by DRINKiQ and the UK Men’s Sheds Association, Mission: Shoulder to Shoulder sets out to bring that same sense of connection to communities across the country, while also highlighting an important issue.

In the UK, public health data shows that older men are more likely to drink to levels considered harmful than other cohorts. This trend aligns with the onset of life-stage and age-related factors from retirement to empty-nesting to bereavement, which can create conditions in which absence of meaning or mission can lead to higher likelihood of harmful alcohol consumption, and more frequent alcohol consumption.

By combining the Shed movement’s focus on community with DRINKiQ’s commitment to promoting alcohol moderation, Mission: Shoulder to Shoulder aims to improve wellbeing, strengthen social bonds and encourage healthier choices among older men.

Men’s Sheds make friends of men who might otherwise be strangers. Because if you put two men in a room and ask them to have a deep and meaningful conversation… you likely get silence. But if you put them at a work bench, shoulder to shoulder… you often get work-bench buddies. These connections bring many benefits, such as peer support, mental stimulation, physical mobility and often reduced alcohol consumption.

Research shows that while four in five (82%) Brits believe in the power of conversation to make someone’s day better, only two in five (42%) say they’d be willing to strike up a conversation or share a problem with someone they didn’t know.

By conducting a social experiment, observing public benches across the country, we discovered that the simple act of sitting down next to someone can open the door to connection. On average, a single bench facilitated 5.5 conversations a day — that’s more than 2,000 every year.

Now, with Shedders creating 100 buddy benches nationally, we’re set to unlock 200,000 new conversations annually. Each one is a chance to break down barriers, ease loneliness, and show that kindness from a stranger is closer than we think. Three-quarters of us (76%) already believe in that power, and the benches are here to make it a reality.

Whether it’s peer support, mental stimulation, improved wellbeing, or making more responsible drinking choices, connection truly makes a difference. And sometimes, all it takes to begin is a seat on a bench.

Timmy Mallett joins the mission!

TV icon Timmy Mallett has joined his local Shed to help build bench #1 for Mission: Shoulder to Shoulder.

A staple of British TV in the 1980s and 1990s, Timmy (70) is still known for his giant pink mallet and quirky style. He’s also a passionate advocate for arts, crafts and wellbeing in later life – making him the perfect ambassador for this campaign.

Bursting into his Shed, mallet in hand, Timmy set to work alongside fellow Shedders to create his own unique buddy bench.

Find out more about your local Men’s Shed here.