What's a community shed?
Is it a Men’s Shed or is it something else? Well, the truth is, it’s kind of just like a Men’s Shed, but it’s for everyone. We are a fully diverse and inclusive community, and we intend to try and support all the parts of our community, regardless of what different diversification they might have. Either cultural, religious, gender-based, or abilit level, we don’t discriminate against anyone. So if you’ve got a great idea of how we can be more inclusive, and bring more people from the community into the Shed, then please get in touch with us on this page or the website.
What if I have something to donate?
We love donations, because we were a community-led organisation that survives on grants and membership fees. If you’ve got something that you’d like to donate it’s important to remember that it needs to be useful to us. We are not your local hard rubbish disposal centre, sadly, that’s the council’s work, but we are happy to have a look at anything that you think might be of use to us. So if you have something, there’s a form on the website that you can fill in or you can get in touch with us through our Facebook page, the website, or by email.
How old do I need to be?
We’d like to be open to everyone of all ages, but sadly that’s just not so. At the moment, our insurance restricts us to members being over 16 years of age. This is due to the dangerous nature of some of the tools that we have in the Shed. So anyone over 16 years can be a member at the Shed.
How much is membership?
We have 3 main membership tiers; Concession, General, and Patron. All of these membership levels have the same membership rights. The costs for these memberships are voted on at the AGM each year. the deatils of memebership can be found on our membership page.
When you sign up on the website, we grab your details, and that membership is recurrent for every year that you are a member of the Shed. The system looks after it, automatically, so it’s very easy. If you need to cancel, you can do that easily too.
What is a general member?
The general member category, which is what you would consider a normal membership at the Shed gives you voting rights on all organisational matters and at the AGM, and it also means that you can come and use all of the tools, and all of the facilities at the Shed, at all of the sessions that you are appropriate to.
What is a supporting member?
Supporting memberships are for people who would like to stay connected with the Shed, but don’t want to come and do projects at the Shed. So supporting membership is free, and it basically nominates you onto our mailing list, and we’ll keep in touch for all of our exciting activities and updates.
Can I come for a look?
If you want to get involved in the Community Shed, but you’re not quite sure, then we invite you to come down for a tour of the Shed, and a chat about what you want to achieve. It might be that you’ve got projects to do, it might be that you’ve got skills that you want to learn, or maybe you just want to come down and support the Shed by doing a bit of work. Many hands make light work, and we need as many volunteers as possible to make the Community Shed as successful as we all want it to be. So please, come on down, check out our Facebook page for session times, and come and visit.
Can I try before I buy?
As part of our rules, you can come to a first session for free without being a member, and to have a look around, and to do supervised work within the Shed.
So come on down to any one of our sessions to have a look around and start on your project. Then, if we are the right fit for you, then you can hop onto the website and sign up.
Can I come and use the tools straight away?
Safety is really important for us at the Merri Community Shed, so it’s important to note that if you’d like to use any of the large workshop tools, and, in fact, any of the tools at all, you’ll need to undertake induction modules for each one of those tools. But don’t worry, it’s quick and easy and we will help you all the way.
Can I get you to do the work for me?
You might ask “I’ve got a project that I’d like the Shed to build for me”, or “I’ve got something that I’d like the Shed to fix for me”. That’s okay too, and we do take on some commissions. There’s a form to fill out that we hold at the Shed, and the general rule of thumb is that you need to pay for the materials, and provide a donation, which is tax-deductible, to the Shed, for us to complete. We’ll put a budget together, and get it back to you, and then we’ll be on the way.
What kind of projects can I do at the shed?
Well, really, the world is your oyster. We have some pre-made projects that you can come and build just to build up some skills and confidence. We also have plans for other projects that we can mentor you with, or that you can do on your own, that are exciting and interesting. You can bring furniture to assemble, furniture to refinish, furniture to repair, almost anything that you can get here, you can work on. We’ve got clear open-floor space as well as the work benches, and if you are not sure, just get in touch and ask us.
What skills can I do at the shed?
Well, a lot of people consider Community Sheds as mainly a woodworking space, but I’ve got to tell you, there’s nothing further from the truth here at the Merri Community Shed. We’re set up, extensively, for woodwork. We’re on the way to being well set up for metal work. We also have spaces for electronics, textiles, lead lighting, pyrography. We’re planning to include ceramics and painting, when we can. And you can add anything else you’d like to that list, so long as it’s something that we can do within the equipment and the materials that we’ve got. So get in touch.
How can I help the shed to grow?
Well, what we need more than anything else is people. We’re growing really fast, and we need more people to volunteer in their support of the activities at the Shed.
So even if you don’t want to build your skills or if you don’t have any skills, there’s still always sausages to be cooked, fetes to be run. No, let me start again. So what else can I do to support the Shed? Well, we are a fast-growing organisation, and we need a lot of help. So what we need more than anything else is bodies. If you’ve got some time to donate, then please come on down, and help us out doing many of the tasks that we’ve got to build the Shed.
What else can I do to help the shed?
There’s off-site fundraising activities like Bunnings’ barbecues, raffles, and participating in our craft stalls. So you can certainly get involved just as an arms and legs supporter of the organisation. Another way that you can get involved is in the committee. The committee of management is up to 10 people that look after all of the decisions made for the Shed. The committee gets re-elected every year at the AGM, which happens around about August, and we certainly would love anyone that’s interested to get involved in subcommittees of the committee that don’t require you to be voted in.
How do I join the committee?
The committee of management is up to 10 people that look after all of the decisions made for the Shed. The committee gets re-elected every year at the AGM, which happens around about August, and we certainly would love anyone that’s interested to get involved in subcommittees of the committee that don’t require you to be voted in.
What are the sub-committees?
Some of the subcommittees that we’ve got at the moment are fundraising, grant writing, and health and safety. But if you’ve got an interest or expertise in something else, please get in touch, because we’d love you to help us grow the Shed together.
How is the shed funded?
The other thing that we need, at the moment, more than anything, after people, is money. So we are always chasing fundraising opportunities to participate in, grants to be able to apply for, and sponsors to find. So if you’ve got any ideas of how we can fund our activities and support the work that we’re doing in the community, please get in touch.
Are all shed costs tax deductible?
You’ll find it good to know that the Merri Community Shed is both a deductible gift recipient for tax purposes, and a registered not-for-profit organisation with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.
What does that mean? It means that any donation that you make to the Shed is tax-deductible.
The two things that are not deductible though are the cost of materials that you buy from us, and you also can’t deduct the cost of memberships that you pay to us, but you can deduct any straight donations that you make.
Can I bring my pet?
We love pets, and we think that they form a great part to supporting people’s mental health. Unfortunately, because of the work that’s done inside the workshops, you can’t bring your pet inside the workshops.
You can, however, bring your pets down to the Shed, and leave them in the outside areas. There’s plenty of places to tie dogs up, and cats, if that’s your fancy. But just as a reminder that pets, unless they are assistance animals, can’t come inside the workshop spaces.
What should I wear?
You need to wear not loose clothing. You need to have your hair tied back if it’s long. You need to wear closed-toed shoes. We’d prefer that you use safety shoes.
If you’re a regular member of the Shed, it would be a good idea to buy safety glasses and ear protection of your own, so that you can label it, and leave it at the Shed or take it home with you.
Additionally, we do have some shareable safety glasses and earmuffs, but they’re not personalised for any particular person. So it is just about being safe. No dangly earrings, no scarves, no ties, and good shoes on every day.