Merchant helps out in Gloucestershire and Africa

Builders merchant chain Buildbase are supporting a tool-based charity scheme that helps a charity in Gloucestershire and one in Africa.

The ‘Tool Amnesty’ event was launched at the Cheltenham Buildbase and means that unwanted tools can be handed in to the branch to help Age Concern Gloucestershire and Southampton-based Tools for Self Reliance, with whom they are working in partnership.

Age Concern Gloucestershire has launched its ‘Men in Sheds’ project which aims to engage with older men in the county by offering them the opportunity to volunteer their time and skills to refurbish second-hand tools. These tools will then be sent to Africa through Tools for Self Reliance. They will be used by rural artisans and craft workers in some of the poorest areas, giving them the means to earn a living and maintain their homes.

Local builders merchant Cheltenham Buildbase is the area’s primary collection point. Tools needed include carpenters’ tools, for example planes, chisels, hammers, drill bits and saws, builders’ and plumbers’ tools, for example screwdrivers, spanners, wrenches, mallets, paint brushes and allen keys.

Age Concern Gloucestershire has set up a workshop in Mitcheldean where older men can volunteer to refurbish old tools. A further workshop will be opened shortly in Cheltenham.

Christina Snell, chief executive of Age Concern Gloucestershire said: “We are very grateful for the support Buildbase is showing for Men in Sheds. The staff at the Cheltenham branch have been really enthusiastic and are helping us to get this unique project up and running. Working together, we can make a real difference to the lives of older people in our county, as well as to the lives of men and women in Africa.”