🎂 Last night we celebrated a very special milestone – 10 years of GoodGym Hounslow. What better way to mark a decade of doing good and getting fit than with a festive task followed by a birthday party?

But first, a huge shout-out to Alanna, who clocked up her 100th good deed! An amazing achievement. Well done, Alanna, that's a really impressive amount of litter picking, tree planting, wall painting and squats!

Our task for the evening was at the beautiful Chiswick House and Gardens. Our job was to weave Christmas wreaths using wisteria gathered from the grounds. Everyone's creativity come out, and the results were beautiful. The profits from the wreath-making go straight back into supporting the charity, and we now have the skills to make our own wreaths for our front doors this year. Win - win!

Then it was time to swap the gloves for glasses and head off to celebrate. It was wonderful to see so many of you there, sharing stories, laughter and memories from the last ten years. Back in November 2016, GoodGym Hounslow became the 26th GoodGym area to launch. We gathered at the Town Hall to clear leaves on Turnham Green, but could not possibly know what lay ahead.

From those early days of one, two or three runners we have grown into something truly special. Today a core group turn up week after week to do some good and get active - and,of course there's always the pub afterwards!

Over the decade, you've clocked up an astonishing 7,000+ good deeds, helping charities, community groups and local projects right across the borough. The jobs have been wonderfully varied: but GoodGym has always been about much more than the nuts and bolts of it. It's about the friendships, the support and the community -we've celebrated the good times and supported each other through the harder ones.

And while we're sometimes accused of having an unusual enthusiasm for destruction, what we've been doing is building a wonderful community.

A huge thank you to all whether it's you've done one good deed or one thousand. No job is too muddy, too cold or too strange for you! Ten years, thousands of good deeds, countless friendships and innumerable Old Packhorse prawn crackers - here's to everyone who has been part of the journey. Happy 10th birthday, GoodGym Hounslow! ❤️

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What a fantastic evening of collaboration, community spirit and a fair bit of friendly competition at GoodGym Wandsworth last night!

We were delighted to welcome the team from Enable to join us. Enable is a charitable organisation working in partnership with Wandsworth Council to deliver health, leisure and community services across the borough. From looking after parks and green spaces to providing sports, wellbeing and community programmes, they're all about making Wandsworth a better place to live. A perfect partner for an evening of GoodGyming!

We kicked things off with a warm-up and a suitably seasonal question to get everyone thinking: How many noses does a slug have? Well done to Gabriel and Anais for getting that particularly niche question right!

Then it was off to Doddington Community Garden, a wonderful community green space where local people can come together to grow, garden and enjoy a little oasis of green.

There was plenty to get stuck into, with a variety of jobs to keep our green-fingered team busy:

• Taming and tying back the raspberry canes.

• Pulling up grass and clearing space.

• Creating new no-dig layered beds – otherwise known as delicious-sounding 'trifle beds'!

• Getting strawberries planted and ready for spring.

There was no shortage of jobs to do - the only slight hitch was that the lights were temporarily out of commission. It made things a little trickier, but that didn't stop us. By the end of the session, we'd made a really good dent in the jobs and Malissa was delighted with what we'd achieved. Great work, everyone!

Next, it was down the stairs for some fitness . We started off with a game of head or tails which had us running laps of the square, or if you were lucky, doing the conditioning option. We then moved onto a sprint-hold challenge, before finishing with a full minute of planking with some serious core strength on display!

But the evening wasn't over yet. We headed off to the pub for the eagerly anticipated GoodGym v GoodGym v Enable pub quiz. There was some impressive quizzing all round, with everyone doing very respectably. One of the GoodGym teams even won the jackpot! 🎉 That means our Christmas party fund has just had a very welcome boost. So, make sure you put 14th December in your diary for our Christmas celebrations.

A huge thank you to Enable for joining us for a brilliant evening of collaboration, community action, fitness and fun.

Coming up next: We've got more missions on Wednesday to help support a food growing and sharing initiative in Roehampton. You can sign up here - these sessions will be happening throughout the day.

Next week we have a very special group run where we will be planting no fewer than 1000 daffodil bulbs . Hope to see you there💚

🌸Saturday morning saw GoodGym Wandsworth heading to the neurodisability hospital to help create something special – a therapy garden for patients and their families.

A garden like this can make a huge difference. Having access to a peaceful outdoor space, surrounded by nature and greenery, can support wellbeing, reduce stress and anxiety, aid recovery and provide a welcome place for patients and loved ones to spend time together away from the clinical environment. A little green space can go a long way! 💚

A special welcome to Charlotte, who joined us for her very first GoodGym session. What a lovely morning to make your debut!

It was a morning of digging, planting and a fair bit of battling, as we discovered that the ground was rock hard! Undeterred, Charlotte set about getting a donated camellia into the ground, determined to give it a happy new home.

Meanwhile, Letizia and I got busy building a brand-new no-dig flower bed. Layer by layer, we added soil, twigs and topsoil to create the foundations for a beautiful new growing space.

We even had a visit from a pair of curious robins, hoping we'd unearth a few tasty treats along the way! 🐦

The sun was shining, the company was lovely and there was a sense that we were helping to create something meaningful.

A beautiful morning, a special project and hopefully the beginnings of a garden that will bring plant based therapy, joy and a little bit of nature to many people for years to come. 🌱

Last night, GoodGym Hounslow headed to the High Street to lend a helping hand at one of the many Abundance Gardens scattered around Chiswick .These little green pockets are so important in our busy urban environment. They brighten up our streets, support wildlife, provide habitats for insects and other creatures, and give local people something lovely to look at. Last year, we planted bulbs in the beds, and the results have been brilliant. Local people commented on the difference, there was less litter around the area, and robins were spotted for the first time! 🐦 A positive impact all round.

🍂 This time, our mission was to clear away fallen leaves, tackle the weeds and get the soil ready for the next round of planting. The garden sits right in front of a nursery, so it's a little patch of nature that the children and waiting parents can enjoy.

In just half an hour, we'd collected plenty of bags of garden waste, cleared the area and got things looking much tidier. We also uncovered a healthy habitat for hundreds of snails! 🐌 That's got to be another indicator of a healthy biodiverse environment, right?

With the bags collected and the wheelie bin back in place, the garden was looking much better and ready for imminent planting.

💃 From gardening gloves to dance moves…

Of course, no GoodGym session would be complete without a little fun. As we shifted the bags and replaced the bin, plans were already afoot to recreate the latest viral dance for our socials. Community and choreography go hand in hand.

And the timing couldn't be better, because GoodGym Hounslow is turning TEN next week! 🎂🎉

We're planning a very special celebration, and we'd love you to be part of it. Don't miss out – sign up here and come celebrate ten years of running, helping out and making a difference together!

There's also a lovely task coming up this Saturday at the neurodisability hospital It's a really worthwhile mission and not too far away, so hopefully see some of you there!

Another week, another little corner of Hounslow made brighter. See you at the next one, GoodGymers! ❤️

Last night, we kicked off our first winter Tuesday session on The Strand in collaboration with GROAD to hand out clothes and essential items to people sleeping rough.

These sessions will be running on the third Tuesday of every month until April, helping make sure people have access to practical essentials through the colder months.

It was a hectic but effective task - there was a real demand for the items on offer, with people keen to find the things they needed. We had lots of chats along the way, and the majority of the donations found new homes by the end of the night. All in all, a good night's work!

The work GROAD does is so important because getting essential clothing and other everyday necessities directly to people experiencing homelessness can make a real difference, especially during winter. Alongside meeting immediate practical needs, these sessions offer opportunities for human connection, conversation and a little extra support.

If you enjoyed last night's session, we also have a weekly joint session with Gurseva on Saturday nights, handing out food to people sleeping rough in the very same spot. Everyone is welcome, whether you're a regular or joining for the first time!

A big thank you to everyone who came along to help last night 💛

🎃 Last night’s Halloween themed GoodGym Wandsworth session was a little different from the usual routine because, for perhaps the first time ever, there was no run at all! However, we did make up for it in other ways....

Firstly, a big welcome to Julian who came for his very first GoodGym session — great to have you with us!

Our task was just across the road at the amazing Wandsworth hub for people experiencing homelessness. This vital project provides support, safety and practical help for rough sleepers, and during the winter months, it can mean the difference between spending a night out on the streets and having somewhere warm and safe to sleep. With winter approaching, our mission was to help transform some of the spaces into emergency bedrooms, so that nobody has to spend a night sleeping rough.

We heard from Nick, the hub’s manager, who gave us a brilliant insight into the work they do and why it matters so much. Adam, one of our very own GoodGymers who also works at the hub, was there to help organise the task and get us all going.

Then it was time for action! Half the group headed downstairs to the basement, while the other half took on the upstairs space.

The first jobs involved setting up beds, moving computers and dismantling tables to clear the areas ready for their new purpose. The upstairs team certainly got a workout, trekking up and down the stairs with equipment and furniture — who needs a fitness session when you’ve got stairs to climb?

Meanwhile, the basement team got busy making beds and building the privacy screens. Easier said than done! Armed with limited instructions and what felt like a million different pieces, each with endless possible combinations, the team had to work out which way everything was supposed to fit together. This involved an impressive mental workout!

But the results were fantastic. It was amazing to watch the spaces transform as the evening went on. By the end of the task, there were beds in place, privacy screens up and spaces turned into safe, warm bedrooms for people who need them most.

And just like that, our evening’s work was done. No time for running or fitness tonight, but it was absolutely worth it to support such an important project. We even had some sweeties to keep our energy levels up while we worked!

🍪 But the treats didn’t stop there…

This was our special Halloween session, so we headed to the pub afterwards, where some of the group had put together an incredible spread of homemade biscuits, cookies and other goodies. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed — what a feast!

The costumes were just as impressive. Beth and Jo teamed up in a shared pumpkin ensemble, Sophie wowed us with her amazing skeleton outfit and bald cap, and Annabel showed true commitment to the carrot with her fantastic headpiece. Halloween spirit: absolutely nailed. 🎃💀🥕

Thank you to Jordan for organising a brilliant social, and to everyone who came along, rolled up their sleeves and helped make a real difference.

🏃 Next week: back to our usual routine! We’ll be back to the classic GoodGym combination of a run, a task and a fitness session — followed by the pub quiz, of course! Come and join us for some good exercise, great company and a chance to do something positive for our community.

And there’s more good to be done before then! This Saturday, we have a mission at the neurodisability hospital, creating a garden for patients. It’s a lovely way to kick off your weekend.❤️