LOCAL LIFE

The Positive Vibes Foundation has many different branches helping our community , Young Healthy Minds Forum , Mental Health Talks , Pawsitive Paws and the subject of this article , The Hills Women ’ s Shed .

The idea for the Hills Women ’ s Shed began in 2017 and six months after it was first discussed , the vision came to fruition . It ’ s designed to help everyone in the community come together , there is no age restriction , and while it is called the ‘ Women ’ s Shed ’, men are also very welcome !

Its name is slightly deceiving as the shed is not a shed at all , it ’ s actually a fully functioning house with a kitchen , bathrooms , laundry and all the other things you would expect in a normal home .

It ’ s open every Thursday and every second Saturday and offers crafts , workshops , cooking classes and other interesting activities to involve the community .

Post-COVID , people were hesitant to go back , having not been in contact with many people during lockdown . Mercedes Durant ( board member of Positive Vibes and head of The Hills Women ’ s Shed ) told me of the changes they had to put in place .

“ Some of our usual visitors felt overwhelmed after the lockdown . We encouraged them to still come along and if they didn ’ t want to participate , they could be in another room and read a book ,” Mercedes commented .

“ Some were scared of getting COVID , so we wore masks , we wanted people to come along and be in a safe place in whatever way they needed it .”

The shed isn ’ t just a place to hang out and meet other likeminded people , it also works to help the greater community .

Members recently helped newly arrived families from Afghanistan by collecting donations of clothing and household items .

Over 250 people came over five days and were able to pick their own items of clothing , shoes , towels and kitchen ware which would help to set them up in new homes .

Mercedes was keen to point out that they didn ’ t do it on their own - Hills Community Aid provided the bus which transported the people to the shed , and local Rotarians got the message out for the donations , making it a real community affair .

To make it accessible to all , they don ’ t charge for their events or crafts held in the shed , and even supply all the items needed for a session ; this is only possible

The Hills Women ’ s Shed offers different activities each week .

through the hard work of Positive Vibes .

Recently the shed held a fashion show , after Terese Wilson came up with the idea - they raised over $ 8000 , enough to cover rent , tea and coffee facilities and the crafts that they supply .

They have also collaborated with the Hills UPmarket and have a stall there where they sell the extra crafts they have made over the month to raise further money to support the shed .

If you are interested in joining in , all details of upcoming events are on their Facebook page www . facebook . com / thehillswomensshed .

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Opening Hours : Monday 9am – 5pm | Tuesday 9am – 6pm | Wednesday 9am – 5pm | Thursday 9am – 7pm | Friday 9am – 6pm | Saturday 9am – 3pm | Sunday : CLOSED

THE HILLS INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 84 // JUNE 2022 9