To Promote Men's Health in our Community
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We now meet regularly Tuesday to Friday, 8:30 to 12.30 - DETAILS HERE
TUESDAY MORNING AT THE SHED
The Main Weekly session at the Shed each Tuesday begins with its opportunity for a good chin wag and morning tea, generally from 8.30 to 10.00 am, and is currently attracting over 70 members. It is also a time for members to keep in touch with Shed leaders.
At 10.00 am it is time for some real business. Ian Mackay who this year took over as MC from Merv Elliott who had carried the role since the early days, gets things off to a noisy start when members sing the Shed Song.
While not all members participate with gusto, the singing of this song every week has contributed to a great spirit of camaraderie among members. The essentials are dispensed, reports by President and Secretary; Activity Group reports; Merv’s Challenge; Poets Corner are all dispensed, with several jokes along the way
Often a guest speaker adds information on some essential topic and we end as close to 11.am as possible, with the drawing of the weekly raffle which is always well supported.
11.00 am is the scheduled time for the weekly Round Table Discussion Group with Bill Glasson as Chairman, as he has been from virtually the beginning.
Some prefer to go back to toil in the workshops, garden or whatever. Others find a spot to continue their con-versations with friends and some wander home but the business at the Round Table covers any issue raised by members and attracts over 30 enthusiastic members who are prepared to add to the buzz.
Except for the last Tuesday of each month, when we add a free Sausage sizzle lunch, everyone leaves after 12 noon full of joie de Vie.
The Money Makers
Clearly, funding has been one of our most important objectives, and our most successful, since day one; hence its inclusion as the first item in this Publication. Many who become aware of the financial miracle of building our own Shed and completely paying for it; so that we have a freehold title and debt free ownership of our shed, are amazed.
We are a charity, registered to promote the betterment of mens’ health. Generous donors have given money to us for that sole purpose. Those donors include all lev-els of government, service clubs, as well as private indi-viduals who want to help local men improve their men-tal health.
Our members matched those incoming funds through volunteer effort at the Lions markets, through raffles at the Bridge Hotel, through sausage sizzles at Bunnings, and through shed raffles and project work for the community. This volunteer contribution, by so many members week in week out , is acknowledged with gratitude.
All that money has been used wisely to create our premises and, via our leaders, the social atmosphere that is delivering our purpose.
Pay at the door each week
The Workshops
We are so fortunate to have well equipped wood and metal workshops. Much of it donated. Overall, the number of active members in the workshops has slipped this year and Frank has assured newer members to the Shed that the Workshop Groups would be keen to introduce them to any workshop ma-chines and equipment and settle them in to safety routines.
The workshops of course have always helped members do small projects of their own at the Shed with a charge only being made for any major components they may need.
It is surprising the number of the public who call on the workshops. Some want to donate to us and some want to have small jobs done. The variety and number of requests never ceases to amaze, and it keeps the shed buzzing. Making picnic tables for Mooloolaba Fisheries, was a typical example.
The workshop also continues to complete smaller alterations and additions to our own shed, an example was the Northern side metal awning for sun protection.
One small but unusual project quickly dispensed by Gill Turner in the metals shop was the building of an out-side fire pot which was donated to Kath Wild who was building her “Dome Home” at Flaxton. Her unusual design had been the Australian winner of an international competition by AIR BNB and will attract international visitors. Kath was building this structure with her own hands and our gift to her was a small contribution to assure her that she had support and recognition within the community.
Gardening Group and the Urban Angels
Our original volunteer gardener John Grech who undertook to keep the Shed environs clean and tidy, has had the support of some regular hard workers on the lawn mowers and others who have responded to his calls for support with “clean up” working bees. John has also worked hard to establish his new initia-tive which is a productive veggie garden. He has taken over, not only any clear space he could find, on the property but also any and all spaces between shrubs and ornamental gardens. He now hands over his increasing fruit and vegetable crop on a regular basis, to the Urban Angels who provide meals to needy mem-bers of the public. The Shed is proud of John, and his helpers, in making a success of this ongoing community support activity.
As a result of John’s contribution, we have developed an ongoing relationship with Urban Angels who operate from a building almost next door. On their part they have on several occasions provided labour and sweets to help our own “Blokey” with the food service for our Christmas Parties held in the Shed.
