You’ve probably heard of Men’s Sheds and even potentially recognise them as a place where men gather to share information and a laugh.

What you probably don’t know is that are substantially more Men’s Sheds around Australia than McDonald’s restaurants. And that the desire for their “services” is growing rapidly.

This isn’t lost on the Portarlington Golf Club which has recently committed twin grants to the Shed’s affiliates in St Leonards and Clifton Springs.

Each club received $1700 as part of the PGC’s Community Contribution Fund, with both putting their grant towards vital new workshop equipment.

Both entities view their upgrades as part of their ongoing commitment to the Bellarine men who increasingly frequent the sheds.

“We can always do with funds to help the various projects in our metal and wood sheds because we always want to buy any equipment we haven’t got that we know is going to be required for the community projects we have,” said Jeff Neale, secretary of the Clifton Springs branch that has 48 men on its books.

“It’s primarily a place of friendship and a place to have a good time without any pressure … for mostly older men to gather and learn new skills and generally just get out of the house, including for some single guys who’ve lost their partners.

“We’ve got a whole group of guys with a wealth of experience from their specific industries, some with over 50 or 60 years, and they’re happy to pass on skills to younger guys or those who are just wanting a few tips on specific jobs they have.”

From left, Jeff Neale and Stu Davies, of the Clifton Springs branch, join with St Leonards branch members Shane McManus and John Stevens to celebrate their CCF grants with Portarlington Golf Club’s Jacklyn Nasuti.

Just as their Clifton Springs counterparts, the St Leonards team is industrious in working for funding and recently won a separate government grant to help expand their premises – a mission that has taken several years despite the growing demand.

“We’re open 3.5 days a week and we have around 24 of the 47 members we have in on most days,” said St Leonards branch secretary Shane McManus.

“The guys come when they want and do what they want. If they want to get involved with a community projects we do, they can get involved.

“If they want to get involved in a personal project, or just sit and have a chat and a coffee, we’ve got a book shelf (so) they can sit and read a book.

“There’s not a work requirement, it’s just something to give the guys a purpose and a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

“It’s about camaraderie and a place to go to share knowledge. We have plumbers, architects, mechanics, plumbers and even a doctor. Every quarter he gives a health presentation that is always fantastic.”

The club has also gone on fact-finding and info-sharing missions to other regions – in the state’s north-east and south-west - in each of the past two years, with this year’s trip to the Echuca region already taking shape.

“We’ve learnt a lot from other clubs and we’re always looking to bring that information back to help everyone in our shed and in the community with what we can offer.”

Both clubs were extremely generous in praising the Portarlington Golf Club, acknowledging the breadth of the club’s community-based activities.

“Even the little things like (administration manager) Jackie helping us out with payment in time that we could save $300 on the things we needed at the end-of-financial-year sales,” McManus said.

“People and clubs forget sometimes how hard it is to get funding because there seems to be a lot of grants available everywhere around the state. But they all require affiliations … or specific practices, so it’s really nice to get an opportunity for this in our local suburbs, so we’re very thankful to the golf club; and particularly for things like having us in to host the community raffles on Friday night.

“Those mean a lot to so many clubs around here, so we’re all just really grateful.”

The twin grants were part of a total of $12,500 to be distributed by the 2026 CCF, spread among seven successful applicants.

The total means that in the past six financial years, the Portarlington Golf Club has given charitable support directly to the community of more than $180,000.

In that time, the CCF component has become the biggest single source of community initiatives with more than $60,000 in such grants alone.

The CCF was established to support not-for-profit community or sporting organisations to make positive improvements that will, in turn, benefit the wider community.

This year, highlighting just how much the CCF means to these institutions, the club received a record 32 grant applications totalling in excess of $100,000.

“We really think these donations have become incredibly important within our community, as evidenced by the number of people asking for assistance,” Phillips said.

“So we’re delighted that so many projects will come to fruition as a result of the grants and, in particular, that so many of them will help fulfil a broader community need.”