Scott helps out and skills up at the Resale Shed

SCOTT Cooper has spent eight years helping the Geelong region reuse and recycle and is picking up valuable life skills along the way.

Leisure Networks and Anglesea Community House have run a collaborative program at Anglesea’s Resale Shed since 2019, and the Geelong resident has been volunteering there from the start.

Through the program, people with disability take part in all the shed’s operations at the Anglesea transfer station, learning skills such as money handling, customer service, workplace health and safety, bike and furniture repairs, and stock presentation.

Scott Cooper volunteers at the centre two days a week. Photo: James Taylor.

It aims to help Leisure Networks’ participants build confidence, independence and a sense of belonging.

Cooper does two four-hour shifts each week at the Resale Shed and said he especially enjoys interacting with repeat customers.

“It’s fun. I reckon this is one of my best volunteer jobs,” he said.

Scott Cooper outside the Resale Shed, located at the Anglesea transfer station. Photo: James Taylor.

He said all furniture – particularly couches, tables and cabinets – sold well, as did bikes and surfboards, while dog kennels and tents were frequently requested but rarely seen.

“School holidays are crazy. We sell lots of stuff,” Cooper said.

“If people move house, especially on the holidays, they clear it out and there’s some good stuff coming in.”

He said the most unusual thing he had ever seen at the Resale Shed was a wedding dress.

“The husband came down and got rid of it, then the wife came back down and said ‘Where is it?’ and we said ‘It’s in the bin’ so we had to get it back out,” Cooper said.

Participants learn skills such as money handling, customer service, workplace health and safety, bike and furniture repairs, and stock presentation. Photo: James Taylor.

Cooper said the skills he had learned at the shed had helped with his part-time job at MiniBeasts in Bannockburn

Originally starting at one day a week, the program now runs four days a week and supports almost 20 Leisure Network participants.

Since October 2022, Leisure Networks estimates the initiative has helped generate more than $110,000 in sales.

Anglesea Community House operations coordinator Julie Martin said Leisure Networks had become a valuable part of the Resale Shed community.

“Participants bring enthusiasm, skill and connection to the space every week, and the impact extends well beyond environmental sustainability – it’s about creating a welcoming and inclusive community for everyone,” she said.

Scott Cooper, seen here fixing a cabinet, said furniture was always a popular item at the Resale Shed. Photo: James Taylor.

Leisure Networks chief executive David Meade said the partnership demonstrated the power of inclusive, community-led programs.

“The Resale Shed is a wonderful example of what can happen when sustainability and social inclusion come together,” he said.

“Over the past seven years we have seen incredible growth, not only in participant numbers, but in confidence, independence and community connection for the people involved.”