JOONDALUP Men’s Shed started the year with new equipment, an influx of donations and plans for computer courses.
The group will remain in the old Padbury Senior High School manual arts centre until its permanent home is ready in Heathridge.
A $2700 City of Joondalup grant helped equip a new metalwork area, there have been many donations of hardware, materials and tools and a former lounge area has become a computer training space.
Membership officer Stan Elson said the shed, formed in 2010, was growing steadily, with several new members joining each month.
The group is part of a national network looking after men’s wellbeing and providing a place to use a lifetime’s manual arts skills, such as woodwork and metalwork.
Members can work individually or on group projects, such as toy-making, community handyman services, bicycle restoration and distribution.
Chairman Alan Greenhalgh said toymakers had distributed up to 700 toys to women’s refuges, trauma victims and other worthy recipients from Geraldton to Rockingham and to Third World countries before Christmas.
The shed is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9.30am to 4pm.
Members welcomed Judy Saunders from Glaucoma Australia to their monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 14.
The group’s next guest, on Tuesday, March 13, will provide free blood pressure checks and answer frequently asked medical questions.
Call Stan on 9301 0408.