By REBECCA BILLS
Morrison Men’s Shed members say they are determined to carry on despite losing as much as $12,000 in the Morrison House closure.
President Jack Klenyjan said while the men’s shed was devastated when Morrison House announced its closure, the group was now looking forward to a bright future on its own.
“At first we didn’t know what we were going to do but we were determined to carry on regardless,” he said.
“We virtually set up straight away as our own identity and we kept the name Morrisons, and people have wondered why we have, but people know us as Morrisons.
Mr Klenyan said losing the money was a blow.
“We had between $10,000 to $12,000 that we had made that was saved,” he said.
“This was money we had made by doing work for community organisations, barbecues and other events – our members had given weekends to do some of these.”
However, despite the loss of funds, Mr Klenyan said the group was now more determined than ever to get back on its feet and continue to service the community.
“We now share the lease on our old shed with Upper Yarra Community House and, while previously we had to share the shed with others, we will now have it on our own and are able to tackle larger jobs,” he said.
“It gives us a lot more room and we will be able to do a lot more work now,” he said.
“We don’t make any big profits, just enough to keep us going.”
Over the past 12 months the group has completed work for 10 child care centres, four primary schools, one secondary college, one wildlife sanctuary, a community health centre and Melba Support Services.
Mr Kleynjan said the group has been given a Bendigo Bank grant but it is still on the lookout for more sponsors.
