In the week that we celebrate GoodGym’s 10th birthday, 36 of Lambeth’s finest met inside Papa’s park ready to run and do good.

After welcoming a few new runners and giving temporary custody of the Lambeth good deed wings to Sam we marveled at how much good has been done since GoodGym started back in 2009 - over 165,000 good deeds in case you’re wondering.

With the introductions out of the way the first thing on the agenda was to get some pictures with the GoodGym flag so we all headed off to pose in front of David Bowie and the Ritzy and then split into two groups. A small group headed back to our base at Papa’s park to do some weeding and sweeping to give the place a bit more curb appeal. The other group headed up to Hillside Gardens hoping to also do some weeding but the failing light meant they unfortunately weren’t able to get the task done so had to turn around and head back. Luckily for them we had a freshly warmed bread and butter pudding waiting for them courtesy of Paul and we also enjoyed some tasty focaccia from Mira.

Happy birthday GoodGym!

What a banging evening of running and doing good from the rockstars of GoodGym Lambeth!

We kicked off by welcoming Tasha, Jon, Saoirse and Georgia to their first run with us - give them a cheer!

FUN FACT: Loads of Lambeth buildings are named after prominent Afro-Caribbean figures. Max Roach was a Jazz drummer from NYC 🥁

This week’s task was a new one for us - Loughborough Community Centre at Max Roach. It is an awesome place for children in the local area - they host a whole range of clubs and activities. Over the school holidays they had about 200 children who came to play together and have a meal every day.

We split into a few groups to get there (walking, chill run, long run) and met Candice who gave us a bunch of jobs:

👉Barrowing wood chip from outside the sheds to the One O’Clock Club’s vegetable garden.

👉Rearranging the logs into seating areas

👉Sweeping the entrance and concrete areas

👉Dismantling planters

👉Weeding in the vegetable patches and ‘mud pits’

👉Getting rid of the bindweed in the compost area

👉Watering the plants in the poly tunnel and vegetable patch

I’m getting tired just listing them!

So our wondrous team of GoodGymers got to work shovelling and pulling and transporting and clearing. It was a sight to behold.

And after half an hour we’d blitzed the place. Props to Lauren to finishing that mud pit!!

We then headed back for a biscuit 🍪

Top work everyone!

NEXT WEEK is a big one - GoodGym’s 10th Birthday! Our no.1 task is to get a photo in front of Lambeth’s best known landmark (after the London Eye…) but then we’ll have a couple of task options:

• A bunch of jobs at Hillside Gardens

• Clearing some weeds at Papa’s Park

And then the real party begins…AT THE PUB. 🍻 Click here to sign up!