A small team of GoodGym volunteers helped pack down the foodbank following its Friday session at St Matthew’s Church. Tasks included packing away surplus food stock, moving crates, collapsing tables, and stacking chairs to prepare the space for weekend church services. A practical session that helped ensure the venue was reset and ready for its next use. 💚💪

Kash knew some of what to expect in Miss G's back garden. For Sevan it was the first time after having tidied up in the front before. Talking to Steph after Junior parkrun, Kash reminded him that it was "the garden with the fridge and brambles", which was pretty accurate.

Entering the garden, the brambles weren't as bad as Kash remembered. During the last mission, Kash and Steph had dug out the bramble roots, so today's vines looked younger and easier to chop.

Looming over the garden was a big tree from the neighbour's side which turned out to have grapes on it, making it a third food related mission this weekend for Kash and Sevan. Miss G hadn't tried to eat them, so Kash was the guinea pig and declared them tasty 😋.

Miss G's rubbish sacks were very thin, so the brambles ripped them to shreds. Sevan chopped the longer grape vines and Kash tried to line the black bags with them to protect the bags from the bramble thorns. This allowed them to pack 6 sacks by the end of the mission and the sometimes-double-bagged sacks just about held together.

The last job came when Kash discovered 2 trees growing in the narrow gap between the back fence and the other back fence 😕. Rummaging in the tool bin, Sevan found a long tree pruning saw and he was able cut and snap the trunks fairly low to the ground, with a satisfying crack!.

Yesterday evening, three of us from GoodGym came together for a community mission at TRAID Shepherd’s Bush. I had the pleasure of leading the session, and we had plenty to get stuck into! The shop had a huge amount of clothing that needed sorting, clearing and packing away to prepare the space for the next batch. With just three of us, it was a big task — but great teamwork made a real difference. We worked through the piles of clothes, organised the shop floor and packed clothing into large boxes, leaving the space much more manageable and ready for what comes next. It was a busy and productive evening, and another great example of how a small GoodGym team can make a positive impact in the local community. A big thank you to everyone who joined and worked hard throughout the session. 👏❤️ Jalal El Farmawi GoodGym Session Leader

For my Friday morning off work, I was looking for a fun mission to guarantee a good start of the day. A familiar beneficiary, Miss G, came up on the GoodGym website, so I set my eyes on the run to East Acton to revisit the garden where I had done missions twice before, with two other GoodGymers.

Miss G was a bit surprised, having discovered that I showed up on my own this time, but I haven't disappointed her, tackling the front garden and quickly tidying up the path to the house. Only a shortage of black bags slowed me down a little bit, but Miss G resolved that promptly, bringing me another roll of sacks in no time.

It was a lovely morning, with just a short episode of rain, a pleasant breeze blowing to cool me down on my double 5.5km run, and a huge amount of thistles successfully removed from Miss G's front garden.

Last night, we were back at the Masbro Centre for another evening of volunteering, with Matthew and Jalal ready to get stuck in!

First up, we gave the hall some much-needed attention, clearing away all the leaves that had found their way inside. We then turned our attention to the sports cupboard, giving it a tidy and a bit of a refresh. The best part? It was great to see that it was still looking in good shape from the last time GoodGym got in there and worked our organisational magic! 💪

Meanwhile, Jalal and Matthew took on the corridors with the hoovers, making sure the place was looking fresh and clean from top to bottom.

And because no GoodGym session is complete without a little bit of unexpected fun, we finished the evening with some curling... using the brooms! 🥌🧹 It might not be heading to the Olympics just yet, but there was definitely some competitive spirit on display!

It was time for a welcome return to Brook Green, where we were ready to roll up our sleeves and get stuck into whatever the park had in store for us. What we weren't quite prepared for was just how much debris had gathered since our last visit! But no pile of leaves, branches and general garden mess was going to defeat this GoodGym crew.

Everyone mucked in, clearing and collecting until we'd filled an impressive four bags of debris. Meanwhile, Maria got straight to work on the ivy wall — and what a transformation! 🌱 She cleared it brilliantly, revealing a wall that now looks absolutely fabulous. A very satisfying before-and-after moment for the evening!

But the biggest celebration of the night belonged to Matthew, who has now completed an incredible 400+ GoodGym tasks! 🎉👏 That's more than 400 occasions of giving his time, energy and muscles to help his community — an absolutely phenomenal achievement. The lovely Brook Green team helped us mark the occasion by providing some juice, so naturally we raised our cups and gave Matthew a well-deserved cheer. 🧃🥂

A fantastic evening of gardening, teamwork and celebrating a huge GoodGym milestone. Here's to Matthew — and to many more good deeds ahead! 💚