Littlehampton men’s mental health group’s support for two charities

The two charities were selected after members of the group voted on which charities the money raised at their Christmas raffle should go to.

Chestnut Tree House and the RNLI were chosen from a majority vote and as a result were given £200 each from the organisation.

Men in Sheds originally started in Austraila to help men come together to talk about their mental health and it soon became a global group, with around 500 branches in the UK alone. Littlehampton currently has two branches, with Men in Sheds Littlehampton West running for six years.

Michael Geen, 75, chairman of Men in Sheds West, went along with some of the group members to give the cheque to each charity.

Michael said: “Our members at our annual meeting agreed that we’d give £200 each to two charities.

“We had our Christmas fair at The Lamb in Rustington and raised nearly £200 from our raffle. We made it up to £200, and instead of making it two £100 cheques, we decided to match the raffle to make it two £200 cheques, and the members decided which charities.

“We were very happy to give this money to the two charities, and very pleased that we could so something to help them in public.”

Caroline Roberts-Quigley, fundraiser at Chestnut Tree House, said: “We are so grateful to Men in Sheds Littlehampton West for their generous donation.

“Children’s hospice care is only possible thanks to the ongoing support of our local community, and this donation could provide a child with a day of fun, laughter, care and support at Chestnut Tree House. From everyone at Chestnut Tree House, thank you.”

Nick White, lifeboat operations manager, said: “We are delighted to receive donations from members of the local community. These donations make a very welcome contribution to the running costs of our two lifeboats, which are called out around 60 times each year, manned by our volunteer crews.

“Coincidentally, Men in Sheds operate from the former Osborne’s boatyard in Littlehampton harbour, where exactly 100 lifeboats were built over many years for the RNLI.”