Meet, make, grow, share: The slogan of Inverclyde Shed

‘MEET’ is a key principle that sits behind the shed, we meet to bring people together under a roof, in a garden or on a project.

From people joining us as members to take part in our practical activities through to working with other organisations, schools, nurseries, and churches.

We believe in working together strengthens our community and a strong community helps everyone, it helps tackle one of the biggest issues facing our society, loneliness.

‘MAKE’ is what we do but it isn’t the core aim of the shed, it’s a by-product where our members use their skills and life experience to make things to help others.

Some have had trades in their past lives, others have learned crafts and growing skills later in life.

When they attend the shed, there is a wide range of activities from electronics to sewing, craft to 3D printing, joinery to cooking, bee keeping to creative writing, gardening to model making.

Making can take the form of an individual member making a plaque for their local sports club or a team of members installing a whole vegetable garden for a local school.

The shed provides a platform for ordinary people to help their communities, to ‘pass it on’ and give back to others that need help.

‘GROW’ for us has two meanings. Yes, we grow a lot of fruit and vegetables in our gardens which we share with our community, be it church groups or the local food pantry.

However, for us it also means personal growth, connecting with others, learning new skills, being part of and contributing to the community which we are part of.

We see members join us who have maybe been encouraged to come along by relatives or friends, we know that it can be difficult to step through the door for the first time.

What we see however is people who come along transform their lives. They find a place that is welcoming and where they can be at ease, talk about issues on their terms, at their pace with peer support from genuine friends.

‘SHARE’ – it’s this that we feel is at the heart of our ethos.

Where we can, we share what we do with others. We share our skills and life experiences with each other, whether that be the sorrow of grief or the pain of loneliness.

By sharing with each other as friends, we not only ease the burden, but we also let ourselves find hope and worth.

In the end, it’s hope that lies at the heart of the shed. A hope of finding friendship, of meeting and working with other like-minded people from different backgrounds, a hope of being able to give something back to our community.