Every now and then, a mission comes along which reminds us of why we love GoodGym and why it is so rewarding. Yesterday was one of those. Kanika and Diya signed up for a task to help an elderly, home-bound lady with her iPhone so she could FaceTime with her poorly daughter. 

We arrived to find out that the phone which had been given to her by her son-in-law, was not charging. She had had the charger on all day, yet the battery was dead. We tried the usual: different plug points, another charger, tighten the cable - nothing worked. Then a brainstorm, "let's remove the protective back cover and try." That did the trick!

While the phone was charging, she told us her daughter had been in a coma and is now recovering at home but is completely reliant on care givers. The elderly lady cannot visit because of her own medical conditions, and so they haven't seen each other ever since the daughter came out of the hospital. Enter, ✨ Technology ✨

We connected them on a video call...and the smiles were everything! Both mum and daughter were giggling away, so happy to see each other and excited that they would continue to, everyday. 

We sat a while for some more family stories and then left, with the lady full of gratitude and our hearts full of warmth. It was one of those truly feel-good missions where you can see the instant impact and it's priceless 😇

Five GoodGymmers met at the Spencer Denney Centre in Windsor for another round of leafletting for Age Concern.

The leaflets were promoting the centre’s activities for older people and their upcoming fundraising events — this time a Bingo/Quiz and a Bubbles and Baubles session! They sound like great fun and everyone is welcome.

The team set off up the hill with a couple of target roads requested by the Centre. We quickly split into groups: Sol and Juli tackling the right side, Jess on the left, and Anne‑Laure and Angela looping around the crescent. We moved at lightning pace, seeking out letterboxes, dodging doggies and mastering front gates. Within just half an hour, 150 leaflets were dispatched and we headed back to the Centre!

We hope the local community supports the Spencer Denney Centre so it can continue its brilliant work supporting older people in the area.

Angela, Laura and Sheila were found an indoor task at Braywick Heath Nurseries today due to the weather. 3 trays of miniature plug plants of violas and pansies needed to be pricked out into six-packs, ready to be grown up ready for the winter season. 1,225 plants later, our job was done

One beach at Norden Farm, 2 employees, 3 GoodGymers, several shovels and lots of dumpy bags that needed filling. Sadly it was time for the beach to be put away for the winter. It proved to be the ultimate workout for Louis, Sol and Sheila, working legs, arms, shoulders and glutes. Gradually we filled the bags and helped Matt and Jim move the full bags with the aid of a pallet truck. We found several lost toys and a spade buried in the sand. By the end, we had helped them break the back of the task, leaving them with a little more to do tomorrow. An exhausting task!

Welfare visit for Mrs D

Luckily the rain had done most of the watering for us at the Community Allotment, but Georgeta went round with a watering can and topped up some areas. It left us time to prepare some ground ready to extend the raised fruit beds. A lovely chatty afternoon.