Julia
Oxford
TaskForce
Doing good since March 2019
90Good deeds
90runs
462cheers
TaskForce achievements
12
Community Missions
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8
Group Runs
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1
Walking Groups
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12
Run reports
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Run reports
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Group Fitness Activities
led
Oxford
Masked crusaders
The John Radcliffe Hospital is the main Accident and Emergency centre for Oxfordshire, and provides acute medical and surgical services. It is the largest of Oxford's hospitals, covering around 66 acres, including the Children's Hospital, Eye Hospital, Heart Centre, Women's Centre, blood donor centre and many other services. The John Radcliffe site is home to the Oxford University Medical School and the base for most medical students who are trained throughout the Oxford University Hospitals Trust.
All this makes the hospital site very busy, with lots of footfall from students, staff, patients and visitors. And sadly, with people comes litter. The Estates team can't possibly be expected to keep such a large site litter free alongside everything else they do, so tonight we trialled a GoodGym litter pick to see if we could make a difference.
We met on the outskirts of the hospital site, briefed everyone on safety policies, divided into teams, tooled up with bags and pickers and then set off to clean up. One of our teams headed up the hill to the main entrance, another went along the path towards the blood donation centre, a 3rd team cleaned up outside the West Wing and Children's hospital, and our final team concentrated on the car parks.
Masks were the most regular find tonight.
They were everywhere....in the hedges, under cars, by bus stops. LOTS of cigarette butts too, and (oddly) a huge stash of cider cans in one of the car parks - did someone have a party in the car park?! Hats, hoodies and gloves were all found, but astonishingly NO PANTS. We even had a few appreciative comments and 'thank yous' from passersby.
We collected 18 large sacks of rubbish, a broken umbrella, a large box, and a folded mattress-y thing, and lugged them all off the hospital land for collection by Oxford Direct Services.
Well done everyone - the litter is an eyesore, as well as potentially dangerous, so it's great that we managed to clear up so much of it tonight.
Oxford
Frish Fresh
Some hardy Goodgymers braved slightly chilly weather to volunteer at Florence Park and Harcourt Hill Junior Parkruns.
Anwen and I then ran a lovely trail route over some fields and through the woods enjoying the autumn colours. Maybe a route for a future Goodgym walk??
Oxford
Christmas 'DO' - GOODGYM ADVENT DAY 18
It's Christmas Party time!
We will be partying in style in the Lord Mayor's Parlour, so dig out your favourite glam outfits to do the venue justice.
As a thank you for all the litter picking we do Oxford Direct Services have generously donated a sum of money which will cover the cost of a 2 course hot meal, plus mince pies. We will also provide a glass of prosecco for everyone on arrival. After that it's over to you, so bring your favourite soft or alcoholic beverage to keep your evening flowing nicely.
Please email anwen@goodgym.org with your dietary requirements.
PLEASE NOTE we will close sign ups for this on 12th December so that we can give numbers and dietary requirements to the caterers.
We ask that everyone does a lateral flow test before this event, and please do not attend if that is + or if you have and COVID symptoms.
Let's get dressed up and celebrate everything you've all done in the last couple of years!
Oxford
Litter picking at the John Radcliffe Hospital
The John Radcliffe Hospital has requested our help to clear up the litter around the site. There are lots of masks, food wrappers, cigarette butts etc. They are hoping that we can do a big sweep around most of the site, so we will divide into smaller teams of approximately 6 people to head in different directions and clear up as much as we can.
Things to note for this task:
Please wear a HI-Vis if you have one. We have a few spares which we will bring along. Although we will be sticking to the pavements as far as we possibly can there's a lot of traffic around the site and I want you to be as visible as possible.
On which note, if you have a torch or head torch please bring that too.
Litter pickers and bags will be provided, but if you have your own litter picker do bring it please.
Gloves are always good kit to have for litter picking.
Meeting options:
* Anyone wishing to run to the task as a group please meet in the car park of the Richard Benson Hall, 276b Cowley Rd at 5:45pm. There will just be a running group this week as it is a little too far to get to the John Radcliffe Hospita in time if we walk. There won’t be a bag drop available but we can use the toilets. It is just under 2 miles to the hospital.
* If you would prefer to meet at the task please meet us at 6:15pm at the layby as you enter the hospital site off Headley Way. Location pin here.
Oxford
Going with the Flo
After a rainy start to the morning, the sun came out as we walked through the gate of Flo's - a good omen indeed! We started off with some weeding and raking up the autumn leaves to clear some space for new plants, with small breaks to move a large pile of sticks and a children's slide(!) Then, after a delicious coffee from the cafe (thank you Flo's!) we planted bulbs and small flowers. We put violas along the front of the cafe, and pansies by the entrance gate, with daffodils underneath, ready to emerge in the Spring.
It was sadly too wet to paint the small kitchen set for children- maybe a job for next time!
Oxford
Junior Parkrun and some jogging
This week Goodgym Oxford will venture to Harcourt Hill Parkrun to marshal and encourage the young runners.
There will then be a small jog (around 5k) with some hill sprints throw in for laughs…….!
If you sign up please send me (Bethan) your barcode number so I can tell Harcourt Hill who to expect and get us on the roster.
Oxford
Gardening for Flo's
Flo's The Place in the Park have asked if a few GoodGymers can help them with a garden sort out. Tasks are varied, including weeding and some planting. The idea is to get everything ship shape before the winter frosts.
There will also be the opportunity to do some painting, so wear appropriate clothes if you would like to unleash your inner Michelangelo(!)
Please bring your own gardening gloves. Tools will be provided.
Oxford
We’ve got the power (bar)!
We survived the EARLY alarm to make it to our Oxford Half energy station before the road closures kicked in at 8am.
We had PowerBar isotonic drink to hand out to runners at roughly the halfway point of the run. With 2 hours to set up a little over 6000 drinks we breezed through the preparation.
It was fun to hand out the drinks (some very mixed reactions to the lemon flavour!), cheer everyone on, and give an extra loud 'woop' to our GoodGym buddies.
We were all packed down and finished by midday - a little cold and sticky, but feeling inspired!
Oxford
Oxfam Superstore
This our 3rd session at Oxfam Superstore, having started working with them in the summer of this year. We usually work behind the scenes sorting and pricing up donations of clothes, DVDs and homewares, and putting a few things out on display. If we're lucky we'll get a tea break since it's a longer task.
The Oxfam Superstore shop will be open to the public from 10:30am. We will meet at the main entrance to the Oxfam Superstore, and will need to complete a short Health and Safety briefing before getting stuck in. Please wear your GoodGym Tshirt if you have one (helps identify us as volunteers rather than shoppers - the Oxfam regular volunteers wear their Oxfam Ts). Masks will be required.
If you are driving to the task please park at Harley Davidson, next door to the Oxfam Superstore, so that the Oxfam parking is kept clear for customers.
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