About the Men Do Project

There was a clear goal for the Men DO project, getting blokes out of the house and spending time with other guys. Eligibility for the project was very loose, so that it was accessible for as many people as possible, whilst achieving the goal set out, so we made it for men who were over 50 and living in East Lindsey. The project was co-produced with the beneficiaries who always had opportunity to tell us what they wanted to do next, so we visited some fantastic places and did a huge variety of events and activities such as footgolf, The National Coal Mining Museum, a night down the local for some food and pub games, private cinema screenings and Duxford Air Museum.

The guys involved were able to make new friends, and many of these friendships expanded to outside of the project with guys meeting up regularly during the week. This is something all involved have shared that they are keen to continue.

As well as an exciting programme of events, Men DO offered valuable support to it’s beneficiaries when they needed it most. They had 1 on 1 contact with a Carers First member of staff that they could contact when they needed help and had the benefit of this being a friendly and familiar face. This was vital during the first COVID lockdown, when all beneficiaries received regular wellbeing calls, as well as being given a tablet of their own, to keep, which was all set up, with 1 on 1 support on how to use it and a programme of online events to take part in.

The project was so successful we were granted additional funding from The Masonic Lodge and Morrisons to continue and even expand the project, which was fantastic news for the beneficiaries who summarised the impact the project had- “This organisation brings a reason for living to men who are not going through the best part of their lives”.

The Men Do team have worked closely with TED to create a Toolkit that gives an insight into creating, maintaining and evaluating a project such as this.