Old sheds recycled

DANIEL MARKHAM

BIG-HEARTED: Leon Matich with the shed he sold to raise money for Henderson’s volunteer fire brigade.

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Have you got a shed gathering moss in the back garden?

Leon Matich would like to revamp it and sell it for charity.

The Henderson resident posted his first do-up job on Trade Me this month and received $360 from the successful bidder. All of that money will go straight into the coffers of Henderson's volunteer fire brigade.

Leon decided to give to the service after meeting one of its members.

"I got talking to a bloke one day and asked if they were ever looking for money," he says. "He said they always were so I told him I'd see what I could do."

The father-of-two hopes to help many other volunteer groups and will fund his donations by rebuilding and selling one shed a month.

Leon runs Henderson-based company Garden Sheds Direct.

"A lot of people want to upgrade because their shed has gotten a bit old or is too small. I take them off their hands and normally just throw them in the tip. I'd done a couple up and sold them when I thought, `why don't we look at giving the money away this time'?"

The 48-year-old does not have a history of charity work but felt it was time to give something back.

"I've always been pretty tight," he says. "But we've turned over $1 million since the business started four years ago and that made me think maybe we should give to the community." It takes Leon about half a day to spruce a shed up. "I donate my time and all the materials. We don't take any of the profit," he says.

"It's actually a lot easier for me to just throw them away but it's good to help out."

You can call Leon on 021324711 for more information.

- © Fairfax NZ News