Meet our guest blogger, Laura Qin, a passionate volunteer and dedicated member of the Boomer Shed – our community shed for people over 50. Laura will keep us updated with insider stories, project highlights, and the magic that makes the Boomer Shed a special place.
The Boomer Shed has been busy with all sorts of innovative community projects over the last month.
Some of our members took part in making two food storage sheds for NFP Takanini Animal Shelter. To keep daily feedings easy, our volunteers came up with a special design making it transportable by adding two lockable front wheels and two back wheels. To provide stability while towing the sheds, they added stoppers around the joints above the wheels, making maneuvering on uneven terrain less difficult. Because the sheds would be used in an outdoor environment, the volunteers also added metal sheets and meshes from top to bottom to prevent contamination. It was a very exciting moment when the pickup truck arrived on the project delivery date, our volunteers were beaming with smiles and feeling proud of their involvement.
Meanwhile, a creative project of making fairy doors and windows for the Manurewa Play Centre was also accomplished after a much-anticipated wait. A variety of fairy doors were created with different themes to entertain the little bubs, with added culture and imagination. One of our volunteers really made the magic come true with added level of details for realism and the finished doors and windows all looked amazing.
And there are always more projects to keep our volunteers busy, turning simple pieces of wood into incredible things to help out our community. We’re working on door ramps for a retirement village, name tags for community gardens, an E-waste bench for our very own Manurewa Community Recycling Centre and Reuse Store where you can purchase clothes and an array of second-hand household items.
Some projects have begun their early stages in preparation. For our Kai Puawai project, our Boomer Shed Manager, Stacey, and a couple of volunteers made a site visit to survey garden planter placement, taking measurements and making recommendations to improve cost-effectiveness. Working on a project for Blind Low Vision NZ, our volunteers have also now submitted their children’s sensory play designs for approval. And some bird house kits have been made for a rehabilitation centre.
All of this wonderful progress is steadily taking place all thanks to our team of dedicated volunteers who devote themselves to help out the wider community in need. This really makes the Boomer Shed a special place to be. If you would like to find out more about how to become a member you can visit the Boomer Shed website for more information.