Our Men's Shed (which has female members) at the Junction 4 Productions' warehouse supports members of our community with practical, charity-based, volunteering opportunities. Unfortunately, in recent weeks we had to turn down new members (including those referred to us by our local councils or mental health services) as we are unable to a provide suitably sized, safe working environment. Our team design, build, refurbish & store props & scenery. These are then used by local schools, church groups and amateur dramatics societies throughout the North West, to support their productions. Our Men's Shed (which has female members) at the Junction 4 Productions' warehouse supports members of our community with practical, charity-based, volunteering opportunities. Unfortunately, in recent weeks we had to turn down new members (including those referred to us by our local councils or mental health services) as we are unable to a provide suitably sized, safe working environment.

What we'll deliver:

• Purchase a commercially available mezzanine floor construction
• Hire a temporary, on site, storage container whilst work is done
• Outfit more storage and workstation solutions beneath the floor

Why it's a great idea:

Our team design, build, refurbish & store props & scenery. These are then used by local schools, church groups and amateur dramatics societies throughout the North West, to support their productions. Our building is also used to support increasing numbers of volunteers offering workshops (improvisation, acting & singing) as well as formal training (first aid and health & safety), but we are rapidly running out of space. We propose to build a mezzanine floor in the warehouse we own, in order to make best use of our limited space and therefore expand our provision. Additional space would facilitate a re-organisation of our warehouse unit, providing a safe, organised, working environment, enabling our Men's Shed provision to grow, with new team members from our ever-expanding waiting list. This builds on our success in supporting members of our community who are lonely or have additional needs, by providing practical, supported and collaborative volunteer activities amongst friends.

Steps to get it done:

• Clear floor space into rented ancillary storage unit
• Professional installation of mezzanine floor
• Installation of additional storage and workstations below the floor
• Bring items out of storage and re-organise using additional space
• Bring in and train new volunteers

We contribute to local drama provision in schools and amateur dramatics across the region, managing their costs and making the Arts accessible to more people. We'd like to do even more of this. Examples of recent projects include supporting a local special needs school (Park Community Academy) by constructing an outdoor playground stage made from reclaimed wood and providing bespoke scenery and props for a number of their dramatic productions. We also supported an outdoor, amateur production of Beatrix Potter. In order to keep costs down, we intend to utilise the skills of our volunteer team to undertake some of the outfitting and construction of the new floor ourselves. In addition, Junction 4 Production and its supporters intend to make a financial contribution to the Project. The extra space - and extra volunteers we can assimilate in our friendly team - provides a 'platform' for helping more amateur organisations to deliver the Arts in a creative but cost effective way.