Hammering away at the possibility of expanding its facility, the Whittlesea Men’s Shed is pushing to receive thousands of dollars in funding for the project.
The group has applied to the state government’s Men’s Shed Funding Program 2024-25 for a grant of almost $45,000 to extend the shed to accommodate a larger machine workshop.
It would also free up space, allowing fresh faces to join in.
Owing to the group’s “incredible work”, its application has been backed by Northern Victoria MP Wendy Lovell and Liberal McEwen candidate Jason McClintock.
Ms Lovell recently spoke in Parliament, asking Carers and Volunteers Minister Ros Spence to closely consider the submission’s merits and support it.
“Whittlesea Men’s Shed is an important community organisation doing terrific work to reduce social isolation and bring men together,” she said.
With 70 members, the space has continued to provide a place for men and women to connect with each other, “share a yarn, learn new skills, swap ideas and build useful things”.
According to the Whittlesea Men’s Shed committee member Phil Berchdolt, this expansion could be critical in helping additional locals.
“We’re getting very crowded and a bigger area would allow us to do more,” he said.
“As a group we focus on improving men’s mental health. A lot of our members live alone, have no one to talk to, they’ve got a number of problems and coming up to the shed helps them a lot.
“We’ve supported a number of people through the years and we want to help even more, with a bigger space we’ll be able to do just that.”
Prealene Khera
