Windale Men’s Shed & Community Group Inc

The Windale Men's Shed has been established to provide a valuable and safe community place for mature age/retired men to experience social interaction while practicing their career skills to the benefit of the Shed's viability and the local community. The Shed is located at Windale, a Dept of Housing estate established in early 1951, which has its own unique postcode and experiences high unemployment (30 %+) and poverty (60-70% welfare recipients). Windale is still rated to be one of the most disadvantaged postcodes in NSW.
The New South Wales Premiers Department introduced a community renewal scheme to improve the health, well-being and quality of life of people living in Windale. The concept for a Windale “Men’s Shed” was derived from that renewal scheme. A project coordinator position was established in 2004 to facilitate the various operational requirements such as training modules; workshop procedures/policies and fit-out. The Shed was officially opened in April 2006.
A variety of programs are introduced for mature age men to become involved in such as producing items for sale; items for raffle prizes; some items for repair from the community as well as supporting fund raising activities such as Bunnings BBQs and selling raffle tickets. Mentoring of youth has been an activity performed by the Shed in earlier days. However, our resources at the present have reluctantly prevented a continuance of mentoring projects.
It is a paradox to other like operations as its support base evolved from within a low socio-economic community from the outset, thereby providing constructive, cost effective planning opportunities to develop within the group that contained a local focus. Power point presentations are regularly made to representatives of agencies such as Centrelink; Hunter Health and other private organisations with a view to obtaining assistance or just distributing awareness and information.
The Windale Men's Shed is an altruistic group that provides a venue for its members who are drawn from the local and broader community. The SHED works to benefit its members and the broader community while completing projects for financial reward. Gains from the SHED'S operation are distributed to further community projects, community members and shed members. Such income is utilised to maintain the viability of the SHED by covering operational oncost, purchases/maintenance of tools and equipment, and to provide materials for new projects.
The shed also actively supports a number of local schools with dollar and in-kind contributions as funds are available, for selected/special projects that assists the school's direction.
The Windale men's sheds is a community based, not for profit, non-commercial volunteer organisation accessible for mature age persons. However, it is not a service delivery centre, it is simply a friendly environment for mature age persons to attend to practice their career skills and retain social interaction.
Windale Men’s Shed is a not for profit organisation, a registered Health Promotion Charity  and is endorsed as a Tax Deductible Gift Recipient. Donations are tax deductible.

Activities include Metal Work, Woodworking.