Greetings.
Our AGM took place in September and the new Management Committee is hard at work.  I am enjoying the role of President and would like to acknowledge the outgoing Committee for their great work & contributions to the development of CWS.  
We will ensure CWS continues to provide opportunities for Connection through Recreation for our members.  Much work is undertaken behind the scenes, which may go unnoticed but is vitally important to maintain & develop CWS into a strong & vibrant community-based organisation.  I look forward to meeting more members and working with you all to ensure we share & learn new skills, try new activities, make friends and above all, have fun.!!
Deilia Murray.
 
Activities, meetups and workshops (scheduled booked):  reminder to always book on Hello Club and that we endeavour to run these activities with 2 volunteer coordinators to support and supervise the activity (we aim for 3).  This is a safety measure that forms part of our risk management process.  If you are interested in becoming an activity volunteer coordinator please contact Deilia.

Band:  (chat platform for each of our groups) when you become a member you can then access Band after you receive an invite to that group.   Remember to check the FEED as well as the CHATS for general CWS updates and information.

Brainiacs:  1pm Saturday cards/games group continues to attract new members and we have just started another group on Thursdays at 1.00pm.  Come along, have fun and test your skills.

Book Clubs:  Library Book Packs – a reminder if you are a member of any CWS Book Clubs, please remember to pay your fee by adding it from the extra’s menu in the booking system – $12.50 per year.  The book pack service costs CWS over $100 a year per club.

Walking group:  every Tuesday a group of very keen women enjoy the varied walks.  The coffee is always a treat at the end.  The November Away Walk will be held on Tues 8 Nov, further information will be posted on Hello Club Walk Group.
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Sketchy gals:  drawing meetup; interested getting started in drawing or specific techniques?  Beginners welcome to this self-paced group, each meeting will have a basic topic.  You can bring your own project or suggest tutorials or activities.  BYO materials.

Donation:  recently we received a donation of $605 from a Sunshine Coast Council Senior Engineer.  He raises funds for community groups and Not for Profits, during September it was Womens Health Week, so he chose Coolum Women’s Shed.  We were delighted to receive this unexpected and generous donation.
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Tool Shed:  what a great job Sheddies are doing - handmade name installed above roller door, repurposed rolling cabinets for power tools work benches, stand for outside sink, repair kitchen cupboard door and the mosaic letterbox is almost complete.  Sessions currently: - A meetup is an informal session that can be self-directed or you can join in with projects we are working on.  You can use equipment and scraps for small projects but for larger ones you need to source your own materials.  Please do not use any equipment alone and without familiarising yourself with the safety instructions and the manual (all kept in the folder at the shed).  As we progress, a record of Inductions and Tool competencies will be developed.

CWS furniture: we have acquired another Poang chair and now have a spare couch to give away, the one in the main hall of the Community Centre.  If you are interested, please chat to a Management Committee member.

Coolum Men’s Shed:  Saturday 29 Oct 9.30am, celebrations for their 10-year anniversary.  Along with a dedication of a Memorial Garden for past members, there will be a garage sale and morning tea.  CWS have been invited to this whole day event.

First Fridays Social Meetup:  on hold until next year.  Even though this is a social gathering we need 2 volunteers to organise, check the CWS bookings and lead the evening get-togethers.  If you are interested in taking on this role, please let one of the management committee know

Xmas celebration:  Yes Xmas is coming and we will be organising an activity/celebration for our members, possibly early December, details to come.
Thankyou
Deilia M.

Hi Sheddies! This is a quick note to remind you about our quarterly members update happening Saturday 15th February from 10am.  We are trialing a more social and less formal meetup, so come and join us for a cuppa and ask away. We have purposely padded the session with half an hour either side so that if you have specific questions we can help you out.   

Join us from 10am for a chance to find out what is coming up at the shed, hear about new team members and give your feedback on options for the future. There will be two guest speakers including an update from Pam about our 'Sheddie Village' gardening group and Martine about important aspects of financial planning for women. There will be time to chat and just catch up with each other. If you have had trouble tracking down event info, or you have problems using our booking system we will have a computer and an iPad there so we can show you where to find things. The catch up finishes at 12. Approximate timings are:
10am - 10.30 : Early birds cuppa
10.30 -11.15 am : Members update
11.15am : Guest speaker - TBC
11.30-12pm : Stragglers cuppa and more time for questions/plans and chat

Reconnect, Expand and Empower! with Abbey from Whistling Kite Therapies, follows the members catch up at 12.30 - tickets available now for $20.

Join Abbey from Whistling Kite Therapies for an introductory session of Energetic Healing, designed especially for our members.

Abbey  is trained in a variety of energy healing techniques and is a fully qualified Remedial Massage and Bowen Therapist and an Access Consciousness® Facilitator 

The session aims to give you a taster of energy healing and is designed to:

• expand your energy 
• gain awareness 
• empower yourself 
• improve ability to cope  with everyday challenges
• reconnect with who you truly are
• assist you in unleashing your future potential  

Please wear comfortable clothing, bring a yoga mat and/or cushions if you prefer for your comfort and a water bottle.  

Tickets are limited - please book early to avoid disappointment :
https://coolumwomensshed.as.me/?appointmentType=12992697

News happens first here, on our website
If you hadn't noticed, we have been putting our news out here and sharing it to Facebook, because :
a) not everyone uses Facebook
b) Facebook doesn't always show everyone our posts

So if you want the latest,please check this page and our calendar regularly. We also have this set up as an RSS feed so you can get notified when we post here - we can show you that at the meetup as well.

That's all folks - hope to see you soon!

Today our 'Sheddie Villagers' gardening group attended the working bee at Peregian Veggie Village where they met other Veggie Villagers and discussed their plans for the garden plots sponsored by Auspost.  They found out more about what's involved in keeping a plot at Veggie Village and are now planning how they will work the plots together. If you want to join this group of green-fingered girls, please get in touch and we can give your details to their coordinator, Pam.

The heavy rain last night didn't put off our walkers who met this morning for a gentle trek thought the Noosa National Park. We don't know if they climbed over or limbo'd under this enormous tree that was in their way ;-). Our regular walkers meet every Monday morning at 8.15 at Tickle Park Coolum for a walk followed by a chat and coffee, but you are always welcome to suggest your own walks if you can't make that time - if you do Facebook you can join https://www.facebook.com/groups/WomensShedWalkers/ or you can let our coordinators know you are coming by booking in here

Other activities happening this week include our 'Art Drop In' on Tuesday from 10.30-12.30, another quiz night on Tuesday at Coolum Surf Club from 6 pm, Gentle Yoga with Simone on Thursday and we are getting ready for our second sausage sizzle on the 28th January. If you can help with the sausage sizzle please contact us via email ​:

We recently put together a group who are going to take some plots at Peregian Veggie Village. The plot hire is sponsored by Auspost as part of their 2020 community collaboration grant. We haven't come up with a name for them yet - let's call them the 'Sheddie Villagers' for now :-) . If you want to get involved in growing organic vegetables, and maybe participating in a roster to maintain the plot(s) please join them for the working bee at Peregian Veggie Village this Sunday from 9am . You will be introduced to how the veggie villaged works,  talk plots. Covered shoes, hat, protective clothing are required. Morning tea is at 10.00am. Please book in to let us know you are coming or email us to be added to the mailing list. 
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How about a lovely walk through Noosa National Park on Sunday? It's the perfect weather for it. As well as our popluar Monday walk, this week Marie is organising  a walk this Sunday starting from Park Edge Road, Sunshine Beach at 7.30 am. 

You can park on Parkedge Road as not a lot of tourists know this spot. We will then meet near the entry and go from there.

Pack a snack and a drink and we can have a sit down, a chat and overlook the awesome view of Laguna Bay.

If time permits,we can have a cuppa somewhere afterwards.

Look forward to seeing you there !! Comment in the FB event or book on our website to let us know you are coming. No cost to members :-)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1431296787041652/ 

https://coolumwomensshed.as.me/?appointmentType=12720742 

Stirling effort from our sizzlers this week as we sold 550 sausages at Bunnings and raised over $600 for the shed. Thanks ladies for your help - we are looking for more people to do shorter shifts at our slot on the 28th January - please get in touch if you can help :-) Special thanks to Danie who helped with the prep and stayed the entire day and to the Coolum Men's Shed who lent us equipment and a float and lots of inside knowledge!

The 'Sharp Sheddies' made their debut at the Coolum Beach Surf Club Quiz night this week, and although there were some controversial answers, did a great job - we even won one of the rounds! The team name of the night definitely went to 'Trivia Newton John '. We will be going to the quiz night for the next 3 weeks to get the team established, and then make our plans for trivia domination!- if you want to join our team just let us know by booking on the website.

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Coming up in February we are really lucky to have Margaret Moon from EcoDye Queensland providing 2 workshops on Eco Dyeing. On the 4th Febreuary she will be taking you through how to use local plants to dye paper which can then be crafted into cards, or used in collage, or any other artistic use you can think of! ($25 for members). Then on the 11th February, Margaret will take you through the basics of Eco dyeing with silk, with a silk scarf to take home included in the price of $35 for members. Margaret's interest in Eco dyeing began when she moved to Boreen point. Margaret is donating her time as a fundraiser for the shed and therefore we are able to offer this workshop for the bargain price of $25 . These spots won't last long - book here https://www.thewomensshed.org/bookings.html

Quarterly meetup- members and volunteers
Saturday, February 15⋅10:00am – 12:00pm
Every 3 months on the third Saturday

We have restructured our meetings to make our catch ups more enjoyable and informal. It will also reduce the need to distribute formal notices, agendas and minutes which is using up a lot of our volunteers' time - time we would rather spend having fun with the sheddies! This is a chance for our volunteers and members to get together and discuss what's happening at the shed. Each meetup will be a chance for us to share information and discuss options. Join us for a cuppa and morning tea - if you have something you want to hear more about, or raise at this gathering just drop us an email. Don't worry if you can't make it - we will share a summary via the news section of our website.

Do not worry - the management committee will continue to have formal committee meetings - please contact us if you need to attend or put something on the agenda.

​So here I am sitting on a plane to Canberra with my twin boys, I am finally sitting still long enough to introduce myself to you. For those of you that haven’t heard yet, I took over as President of the Coolum Women’s Shed at the special AGM on the 2nd September. (Full Minutes and Accounts from the AGM will be posted on the website this week).  I feel like we have already met in a way as I have been doing many of the Facebook posts, events and queries as well as the Instagram posts. 

My family and I have lived on the Sunshine Coast since 2012, before that I worked in London in the finance industry and then as an occupational therapist.  During my time in Australia I have mainly been looking after my children. In 2016 I studied Visual Arts at the TAFE and fell in love with ceramics. I then became the social media coordinator for the 2018 Noosa Open Studios.

My involvement with the shed started in March when I started coming to the yoga classes at Research Street. I was in the middle of bathroom reno’s and I needed a way to keep calm and relaxed whilst living on a building site. I hadn’t been to yoga for years, but I loved the gentle classes, and met some lovely women.  Before long I was turning up and people were asking me for an update on the reno’s – I knew if I made it to yoga I would manage the rest of the day with a smile on my face.  The more stress I had at home, the more classes I came to 😊. I started to get to know a few of the other women in the classes and the teachers and wanted to help get the word out so I met with Fiona (the President) and started helping with FB and Insta.

What I love about the yoga with the Women’s Shed is that it feels like anyone can have a go  – sometimes we nail it, and sometimes we collapse in a heap and there are always a few laughs along the way.

After a few months doing social media for the shed I felt like I was very much behind the screen, and not really involved in the day to day running of the Shed. So when the opportunity arose I put my hand up to become the Classes and Workshops Manager. Since June I have been involved with getting a public roster on Facebook and the website and setting up new classes and workshops. We have had lots of interest in running activities at the shed, but I was still doing a lot of the social media posts so it’s been a bit of a juggling act between booking things and promoting them.

With this role I started to understand more of the administration needed to set up the events online, including getting to grips with our bookings system and website, and got to know some of the other people volunteering for the shed. I also experienced some of the pressure we were under to pay our lease. I was working every spare hour I had to try and get things booked in, and it wasn’t sustainable, and if we’re being completely honest – not what I wanted to be doing with my time! I certainly wasn’t planning on volunteering for the Presidency 😊. But I really wanted this beautiful organisation to continue and build upon the hard work that so many people had already put in.

We're moving...
So when I volunteered to take on the role of President it was on the basis that I would be looking to take us out of the lease at Lysaght Street. It is a beautiful property but it doesn't suit our long term needs in terms of workshop space, and we are not making enough money to cover the lease in the shorter term. The financial burden has weighed heavily on many of us and has meant that we have felt pressure to try and make money rather than focus on the key aims of the shed. This is why we are leaving the current shed on 19th October.

I would like to extend thanks to the Coolum Men’s Shed as we will continue to offer our regular weekly classes and other events at the Research Street Community Centre. We will be looking for a permanent home but are very happy to have somewhere in the meantime.
 
Keep informed
Once we have completed the move I plan to implement monthly meetings at the shed for everyone involved in the day to day running. General members are also welcome to attend. Details coming soon.

Special Thanks
Many of you know how much work Fiona has put into the Shed, and I would like to thank her for her efforts. She has taken on many roles as well as that of president and she will still be involved in the shed. She is actually having a well deserved holiday as I write this!

Join us
The first two weeks have been hectic - we've run a Sausage Sizzle at Peregian Originals, coordinated supplies for the emergency services attending the bush fires, found a new tenant for the shed, found a temporary home for us and I've managed to meet with many of the current volunteers. We have also been planning quite a few other things that will be happening in the future. We couldn't have done any of this without our amazing volunteers. If you are interested in taking on one of our management roles, we have jobs descriptions listed here: 
​https://www.volunteer.com.au/volunteering-organisations/20570/the-womens-shed-coolum-inc

However if you are happy to help with smaller jobs, please keep an eye on the website and our Facebook group: Women's Shed Volunteers
 https://www.facebook.com/groups/WomensShedVolunteers/

Don't worry if you don't have time to help out - why not just come along to the shed and start with a nice relaxing yoga session? Who knows - you might end up as our next president ;-)

If you have read this far – thank you! I will save the rest of my news for the next post or this will never get published! If you would like to get in touch please email me at coolumwomensshed@gmail.com (Getting a personal email address is on my to-do list 😊)
 
Nell
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This is me on the far left with some of our other amazing volunteers at the morning tea held at Buderim Men's Shed to celebrate the introduction of Deductible Gift Recipient Status for Men and Women's Sheds in Australia.