Testimonials

On Tuesday 20 May, VPL had the pleasure of visiting the Cardinia Men’s Shed at Living Learning Pakenham alongside the wonderful team from Pakenham Rotary Club.

VPL CEO Debra Robertson APM and local Police Legatee Jo Boulter proudly presented a Certificate of Appreciation to the Men’s Shed in recognition of their ongoing support over the past five years.

We are incredibly grateful for the beautifully handcrafted rocking horses the Men’s Shed has lovingly created for

VPL – a true labour of love that brings joy and comfort to many.

Thank you to the Cardinia Men’s Shed for your generosity and craftsmanship. Your work means more than words can

I am a Brigade Support Officer for 16 brigades within the Cardinia Shire and have been involved with the Pakenham Men’s Shed for many years.

I am writing this letter in support of grant applications for the Pakenham Men’s Shed. I first met their Secretary Ken Hordern when I required help building a small fire truck for children.

He was amazing he helped me design it with very specific dimensions and weight to be able to load into the back of a Ranger. I was very impressed with his professional and community attitude.

Ken introduced me to the men and explained what they do for the community but most importantly what it means to the men that belong to the Pakenham Men’s Shed.

The idea of bringing men together to share a common bond of still being needed, beyond just working, they provide support for each other in health-related issues – but most importantly mental health. They also mentor and support youth in the area through programs. My involvement with them was building the fire truck but have formed a friendship and appreciation of their work as well.

Without these men to supply the truck I would not be able to take it to fetes, school activities and open days at brigade fire stations. It is always in high demand and often goes back to the shed for some TLC as the children use it nonstop.

The men’s shed is an important part of the Pakenham community and I could not achieve what I needed without them. They are a voluntary community organisation that relies heavily on grants and good will from others. Please support their application not only for them but for the good of Pakenham Community – without them many men would be lost, and the continuation of their work is vital to the wellbeing of Pakenham.

Twelve months have gone by since we launched the Bless Collective Food Van Project at Bourke Park in Pakenham. It has been a whirlwind so far, but a very exciting time at the park.

We wanted to say thank-you and acknowledge your contribution to the bless collective by donating the handmade clothes rack and other handmade items that the Men’s shed has so kindly provided.

Your tireless efforts in helping us have had an enormous impact on our goals of being able to help those in need and less fortunate in our community and we look forward to continuing this positive relationship for years to come.

We are looking forward to continuing to serve and bless the community.

On behalf of all of those at Follow Baptist Church and the Bless Collective food van we would like to once again express our graduate to the Men’s shed for your ongoing support.

I am writing to thank you once again for your amazing contribution and support to our Christmas Appeal year after year. 

The lovingly handmade toys that you provide at this time of year bring hope to so many parents and happiness to so many children that otherwise may not get to experience the magic of this wonderful season. 

We truly cannot do what we do without the generosity of groups like yours, and I am sad to say that each year the need is growing within our community. 

You do a wonderful job all year round in your workshop to make and store these desperately needed gifts and we appreciate it more knowing that you must work so hard fundraising to be able to fund things like this.

To bring all this together in the lead up to Christmas with the running of the annual Pakenham Toy Run is just remarkable. It truly is amazing to see the spirit of Christmas brought to life and the local community coming together. 

On behalf of the Casey Cardinia Salvos and our wider community, we once again thank you for your life changing donation to our community year after year.

We look forward to collaborating with you all for many years to come. 

Totally impressed by the amazing local talent shown by Cardinia Gujarati Association Garba group. They specialise in Indian Gujarati heritage folk dance form of Garba.
Fantastically lead by Community Volunteer Dhwani Parikh! I’ll also like to acknowledge the amazing swordsmanship of Ruturajsinh Bhiola.
One of the most profound attributes about Garba form of dance in Navratri is the recognition and worshiping of God in feminine form in Hindu.
If you or someone you know is interested in joint the group reach out through the Cardinia Gujarati Association Facebook page.
Special thanks Roger and Brijal from the Men’s Shed for making props!

I would like to thank you, for the Cardinia Men’s Shed Senior – Tivity Day on Saturday October 15 2022.

It was very well organised, and benefited the Pakenham Arthritis Group greatly, by allowing us to promote our group to others, and interact with other groups on the day. Also your generosity in suppling a promotional banner for us, was fantastic. This banner is now on display at the Cardinia Life Centre, where we do a lot of our exercise sessions, and we have already had people interested in joining our group. The kind offer to us of selling your raffle tickets and receiving $1 per ticket we sold, was very much appreciated. The Men’s Shed do an amazing job for our community, and we thank you once again.

We would like to praise you for organising the Seniortivity Day at the Living and Learning Centre in Pakenham last month. This was a great way to promote activities available in Pakenham and to highlight an amazing number of groups in the area. As a Probus group we are always looking to promote our club to seniors in the area without incurring advertising costs. It was pleasing to see several couples who were new in the area and are keen to take up a new interest.

We hope this will become an annual event and other groups will jump on board. Thank you once again.

What an incredible support network for older males in the community! My beautiful late grandfather Peter O’Dea was an active member of Cardinia’s Men Shed and constantly expressed so much joy and enthusiasm about being connected to this wonderful community initiative. He truly valued the meaningful connections and friendships he made during his time there and had an absolute ball participating in the singing group (amongst many of the other activities!). Thank you to everyone at The Shed for having such an amazing impact on my Pa’s life. What you do is so important for men’s mental health and well-being, please keep your fantastic work going!! Much love, Melissa