CARLSBAD, Calif. — Volunteers from a retirement community are reaching deep into their hearts and toolboxes to help people in need. In this Zevely Zone, I met the newly formed Carlsbad Men's Shed Group. At CBS 8 we are always Working For You and the community and the feeling is contagious.
"This is Blue, he's an American Kestrel and he lives right here in San Diego," said Samantha Passovoy. She is the Director of the Agua Hedionda Discovery Center. The Lagoon Foundation needed to spread its wings at their facility called Raptor Ridge.
"What do you think Blue? Check it out, Buddy," said Samantha as she gave the falcon a tour of the shed that will be used to weigh birds and care for their beaks and claws.
"The shed is going to be a place where our raptors can get checked every day for health," said Samantha. Some nice donors named Carol and John Sanders gave the foundation a shed, but then the non-profit organization needed someone to put it together. "A huge instruction manual. I have not seen one that long in a long time," said Samantha.
Volunteer Rich Greenamyer couldn't believe what he was looking at. "We had to find that bag which had all of those parts in it," said Rich. "This may be a little over our head but we took it on." Rich is a 79-year old resident at the Carlsbad By the Sea Retirement Community. He could be watching television but instead he's offering a good deed.
"Well, that's why we do it, we don't want to watch TV," said Rich. Instead, he joined the Carlsbad Men's Shed Group and together they've assembled bikes for kids and served food to the hungry.
Men's Shed is an international phenomenon with clubs popping up all over the world. The groups are mainly for older guys with tools looking for friendship and projects with as lengthy instruction manuals as you can find.
"To look at a manual that is 100 pages now, I don't even know if I read a book that was one hundred pages back during the school days," said Al Certa who is the Trails and Facility Manager for the Hedionda Lagoon Foundation. Al is inspired by these senior volunteers. "That tells me that I can never stop doing what I am doing now," said Al.
It also tells me, even with a inch thick manual, there's no sense complaining. It seems overly detailed to me. "Well if was not overly detailed, I'd still be putting step one together," said Al. Rich served in the Navy and his crew is going to get this job done, come - you know what - or high water because they're Boomers... Baby!
"There is all kinds of Gen Z's, X's, Y's, I don't know I don't keep up with that, so anyway what's your question?" said Rich.
I guess it would be why are they so driven to serve? "Ha, I don't, I'll leave to you and the whatevers. We got to keep going," said Rich who had work to do.
Wasting time is for the birds. "These gentlemen have really blown me away with their commitment," said Samantha. "Thank you to the Carlsbad Men's Shed Group!"
The Carlsbad Men's Shed Team is looking for new members. For more information contact Carlsbad By the Sea Retirement Community's Director of Life Enrichment, Haley DiDonato, by calling (760) 435-2312 or emailing Hdidonato@frontpotch.net
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