Members statements
Heywood Men’s Shed
Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (13:28): I would like to congratulate the Heywood Men’s Shed for winning the Health Volunteer Team of the Year award at the Victorian Public Healthcare Awards. I have had the pleasure of visiting the Heywood Men’s Shed on more than one occasion to see firsthand the work that they do. They host weekly card games and exercise classes, recycle bicycles, build garden beds and disability access ramps for the local community and members and much more. The members also deliver meals on wheels. They look after the hospital gardens, repair furniture to save it from landfill and fundraise for local community causes. They even have picked up newly employed nurses from the Warrnambool station to bring them back to Heywood for the hospital. Perhaps greater than the practical contributions is the contribution the shed makes to mental health and wellbeing in the Heywood community. It provides a place for men and women to gather, learn, make friends and use their hard-won skills to give back to their community. Heywood Men’s Shed represents the strength and positivity of the Heywood community, and I congratulate all involved.