Just when you think it’s always the community that benefits from the time you give, I’ve realised that’s only half the story. Most of the time, I find that community tasks give me a real sense of purpose. I could easily have stayed in bed and slept until late, but knowing I’d signed up to help at Junior Eltham Junior parkrun gave me that little extra reason to get up and get going. And sometimes, that’s all the motivation you need! This morning, three fabulous GoodGymers joined the regular volunteers at Junior Eltham Junior parkrun. I only decided and signed up last night, so now I can proudly say: task completed! ✅ Purpose: ✅ Running to the venue as my personal training for the Big Half: ✅ Early morning sunshine — a natural dose of feel-good energy ✅ A lovely walk home surrounded by nature: ✅ And the parkrun and GoodGym credits? Well, those are just the bonus points! Know what I mean? 😉 I also really enjoyed trying a new role for the first time as Finish Token. Simon was one of the timekeepers, while Ivar was out marshalling. It was great to be part of the team and experience another side of parkrun volunteering. So, that’s my little reflection on this morning. It reminded me that sometimes when we give our time, we get something back too — a sense of purpose, some exercise, fresh air, good company and that warm feeling of knowing you’ve helped.

Hopefully, you’ll be able to join us one weekend. I really enjoyed it, and I’m pretty sure you will too! My only piece of advice? Don’t overthink it. Just give it a go. Everyone is welcoming, and you’ll soon find your own way to contribute. Who knows, you might even find that your weekend is looking a little parka-ly positive! 😄

Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your day.

Till next time — keep moving, keep helping, and keep spreading the GoodGym vibes! 💚 ~ Cecilia D🍀

Two GoodGymers signed up and turned up for a gardening session at Charlton House Garden. We were assigned to tidy up branches and dry plants, preparing them to become useful compost—so we were quite literally branching out! 🌱

Working along the pathway, our mission was to make the garden surroundings look neat, tidy and welcoming. We also worked near the gate, sweeping up dry leaves and tidying the edges leading into the garden. Everything was completed nicely, and the area was looking much better.

We left the watering to the others while we focused on our own little corner of the garden. After an hour of good, productive work, it was time for a well-earned cup of tea and some biscuits.

Another job completed, another garden made greener!

See you next time. ☺️

Last night, 9 GoodGym Greenwichites got stuck into another productive evening of running and doing good.

A special welcome to Aidyn, who joined us for his very first good deed! Welcome Aidyn and we hope it’s the first of many! 🎉 And a huge congratulations to Aman on reaching an amazing 50 good deeds, as well as becoming our newest Taskforce member👏

Our tasks were a mix of indoor and outdoor jobs. In the community garden, we got busy weeding and watering, helping keep the space looking its best. Meanwhile, inside, we continued the slightly more dramatic task of taking down ceiling panels ready for gilding. And bring down the ceiling we did 😁

With everyone working efficiently, we got through it all in just 40 minutes, leaving enough time for a quick group photo before heading out for the run back to Charlton House.

Coming up: This weekend on Saturday we have gardening at Hervey Road and on Sunday we have clearance at windrush primary in Thamesmead.

Next Wednesday we're at the woodland walk by the memorial hospital.

Until next time, you wonderful human beings 👋

Rachel

This mission was all about stairs and we certainly were stairstruck but managed to hold it together to complete the task at hand! We tag teamed to bring a load of stuff for storage down from the mezzanine which involved navigating a very narrow, steep set of stairs. Then carried it all across the car park to another community centre and up two flights of stairs (correctly recognised by Cat as an old school for the iconic reddish flooring). After several reps the mezzanine was looking much clearer and the new storage room was full up, signalling a successfully completed task and a decent work out for a friday evening - good job team 😁

Until next time!

Thursday morning started an hour earlier than usual at Charlton House Garden, with the gardening session moved forward in anticipation of the hottest day, with temperatures expected to reach a scorching 36°C!

The main task was watering, making sure the plants had some much-needed hydration before the heat really kicked in.

I had the pleasure of doing a bit of teasel sculpting — carefully removing the thorny leaves while keeping the teasels standing tall and proud in the garden. With so few plants flowering in this intense heat, the teasels were definitely allowed to Teasel the Day and take centre stage!

It was a shorter session than usual, but certainly a sweaty one! Between the watering, gardening and the rising temperature, I definitely worked up a sweat.

Phew! A little TLC for the garden, a bit of teasel sculpting, and plenty of sunshine — another GoodGym session done! 💪

Whoever’s joining this Tuesday’s session, please sign up and see you there! 😊 Cecilia D🍀

Tonight's task saw 12 Greenwich GoodGym-ers meet for a de-brambling session at Vanbrugh Pits in Blackheath.

Talk of favourite shops, past and present, got us through our relative journeys, and we were just about to walk on by, when suddenly, and without warning, there was this Partial Eclipse of the Sun! It got slightly dark, and there was this strange humming sound, like something from another world...🎵

OK, so that's actually a line from a Little Shop of Horrors song. Thankfully, the brambles we had to tackle weren't carnivorous like the one from the musical, but were pretty prickly, so we made good use of the tools provided, including loppers, forks, and mattocks, hacking & twirling and digging out roots. After a few trips to pile up the cuttings for collection by the local council, our time was up, and the "after" photo shows what a dent we made in the overgrown area. A total Eclipse of the Bark indeed!

Thanks all & see you soon ☀️🌙