Earlier this year, MUD partnered with Job Site Ready for a two-day shed-building workshop. With participants’ help, we built a gorgeous garden shed.
That was the first step, though. In March, thanks to our amazing sponsors at Associated Construction Engineering Inc., Prime Lending, and Jackson Contractor Group, we announced a community giveaway for the shed, inviting people all over Missoula to enter themselves or nominate another person or organization to receive a free garden shed! The only qualifications were that the recipient had to live in the Missoula area, have outdoor space for the garden shed, and help coordinate the delivery and placement.
We received fifteen nominations from a wide array of people. The decision-making process wasn’t easy. We had so many well-deserving nominations from local artists and carpenters to grassroots nonprofits. Ultimately, the judges (MUD staff and board members) came to a consensus.
Who Was Chosen?
There was one response that stood out from the rest. Gretchen Hooker, a volunteer with the Northside Westside Neighborhood Council, nominated the aforementioned council. The volunteer-run group helps connect neighbors, share information, and foster meaningful engagement with local government. They work to build empathy, solidarity, and trust among a diverse mix of residents, while helping ensure that all voices have the opportunity to inform decisions affecting the neighborhood. The shed will serve as a shared community resource to help the organization store and reuse materials, reduce unnecessary consumption, and make it easier to share tools and supplies among many volunteers and neighborhood activities. This type of community building and resilience represents MUD’s values to a tee.
The Drop Off
Last week, on April 23rd, we delivered the shed to the Front Step Community Land Trust Community Center on the Westside. There were some tight squeezes, fitting the shed between fences and walls, but thanks to Luke at Rocking L Transport, the shed found a home, with no problems at all.
I had the chance to interview Hooker, as well as Jana Richter, the community engagement specialist at Front Step CLT. The snow was falling in a flurry as I asked Hooker what the first thing the council would put in the shed would be. “Our most effective outreach tool right now has been these really large sandwich boards,” Hooker answered. The boards are placed around the neighborhood to inform residents of public meetings and other neighborhood events, but there was nowhere else to put them aside from volunteers’ homes. That will no longer be a problem, thanks to the shed.
While talking to Richter about the shed, they pointed out how MUD and Front Step have similar origin stories, both starting in the Northside Westside Neighborhoods. Front Step’s founder, Bob Oaks, was also instrumental in the founding of MUD. This shed giveaway was a bit of a full-circle moment for us here at MUD. Giving back to the community that supported us from the start feels right, especially when the council receiving the shed does as much work for the neighborhood as it does.
We look forward to seeing how the Northside Westside Neighborhood Council uses the shed, and we also look forward to doing more community-centered giveaways in the future, so keep an eye out on our socials because you could be the next winner!
0 Comments