My husband loves woodworking and spends a lot of his spare time in his shop building things. I thought a great idea for a present for his birthday and Christmas last year was some type of class. Interesting enough, he had a class he was very interested in attending so it was a win/win. He had seen some you tube videos from a guy in Canada named Rob Cosman and found out he taught a class on building without power tools. He also had a program called the Purple Heart Project. The concept behind the project is to introduce physically and mentally Wounded Warriors, suffering the negative effects of combat, to the peace and joy that can be found through the therapy of traditional hand tool woodworking. In the class there are 7 paying students, and for each paid student there is one Wounded Warrior.
Clay signed up and spent last week participating. He has said it was a life changing event. As a rule, men don't open up to other men (or for that matter, women) very quickly. That was not the case with this class. These 13 men and 1 woman were thrown together for a week with extremely long hours, and they bonded instantly. They shared their stories with each other as they worked with their hands to learn how to improve (or in some cases learn) new woodworking skills. They spent a great deal of time sharpening tools,
and making curls.
They also learned how to make dovetails, which Clay says he has not fully mastered yet.
This lingo is a bit off for me, but then Clay doesn't understand gardening lingo. I do get the concept of mind/body therapy. That is what gardening is to many of us. Master Gardeners have been doing plant therapy programs in hospitals and nursing homes for years. For some it is plants, for others woodworking.
The workshops are called "Training the Hand". There are 2 in the fall and 2 in the spring each year. The program funds 100% of the Wounded Warriors airfare, ground transportation, hotel, meals, tuition, plus they get a premium kit of tools to take home after the workshop. The tuition of the paying students helps offset the costs of the sponsored Veterans. But Clay will tell you, he got much more than a woodworking class. As Rob's website says – they get to meet and bond with real Heros, make some friends for life, and join a brotherhood that few non-military ever experience. In addition to the tuition, they also receive small donations by individuals and business owners which helps keep the Purple Heart Project alive.
Whether you are a woodworker, know a veteran who might benefit from this, or just want to help a feel-good project visit RobCosman.com
to get more information. If I can figure out how to share this live, here is a link to an interview of the paying students that Rob conducted on the last day of the class:
Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZQdBKVSWx4&feature=youtu.be