Today the GoodGym gang ran 7 km to Wellsbourne Community Garden and back.

We welcomed new members Paul, Paul and Paul.

Stalwart member Rosie was running her 50th session!

We met Lucy, our task owner, at the Wellsbourne Healthcare Centre. She explained they had a volunteer gardening day tomorrow. Our task was to dig holes to plant wild flowers and plants to attract pollinators. We readied our destructive green fingers and shovels and got to work. Others made swift work of tidying and weeding the garden.

Stefania did a fitness exercise session to work on all those muscles we had neglected while running and digging.

To thank us, lovely Lucy kindly gave us cooking herbs from the garden and chocolate. How nice 🙂!

Thrilled at the prospect of it being LIGHT OUTSIDE since the clocks went back, we enjoyed a sunny (but still chilly) evening in Hanover.

With plenty of new faces at the meeting point, we started with introductions and congratulated Pippa on 50k last weekend, and wished Olivia good luck for the London marathon on Sunday. Then it was straight into some hill workouts, with a long slow hill to endure at the start, then a wee speedy one up to the Pepper Pot at the top of Queen's Park.

Arriving at the task, we were met by fellow Goodgymer Michelle, who has a side gig as a primary teacher. She showed us the half-built monsters being prepared for the Children's Parade, which kicks off Brighton Festival in May. The theme is Where the Wild Things Are, and we were wildly excited to get stuck in! Whether it was constructing leaves from willow sticks, adding a layer of papier mache to a giant monster, stripping colourful ribbons off sticks, or blowing up rugby balls, we all channeled our inner 8-year-old and had a great time.

We were sad to wrap up when the bell rang, but playtime wasn't over! We braved the chill wind to complete an 8 minute interval workout, and discovered that some playground equipment is a lot more challenging than it looks. Finally it was home time, and we ran our separate ways, with some of us making a detour to take in a fab view of the setting sun 🌞

Thanks everyone for a great task, looking forward to more sunny and (hopefully) warm sessions in the coming months 😎

6 Goodgymers made their way 7km to Moulsecoomb hall to assist in their volunteers day on Tuesday 9th April 2024.

We were provided with white paint for the walls and doors of the lobby of the building to help refresh the space and give it a bright welcome for visitors. The hall provides a much needed space for the local community to hire at affordable prices for weddings and parties but also for regular classes etc. We painted the foyer before a new carpet will be laid in a few days time.

We were then given pizza which we devoured before making our way back home. A warm welcome to “new” Pippa too.

This week GoodGym participates in the Food Bank Run initiative in different Areas across the country to the benefit of local food banks.

Many people are worried about having enough money to buy food, and likely there are several foodbanks across Brighton & Hove city. On this occasion, GoodGym Brighton helped Brighton Foodbank, the first and independent Christian food bank, established in Brighton and Hove in 2000. Since the pandemic, they record an increase of 30% in households needing their help, from 1 to 30+ households a week. In 2021, they gave out over 5 000 boxes of food, helping 1 223 people.

I have been always particularly keen to help local organisations, like Brighton FoodBank, to tackle food poverty, and I was very intrigued to contribute to the running of the daily operations of the Brighton FoodBank together with Nicky. So, together, we enthusiastically prepared several boxed of food, ready to be collected by the foodbank’s clients – which is open to the public Monday to Wednesday from 10am to 4pm.

And, last but not least, after hours of slightly frustrating waiting, the delivery of food purchased weekly finally arrived at 4pm – just on time to prove the benefit of GoodGym superpower in handling loading and downloading a cargo! GoodGym-ers contributed also by delivering donations of food, especially of tinned food plus something to make the foodbank clients smile – which is indeed always welcome!

Very long day 6 hrs getting people and runners flowing across a major road, some happy some not so. Two Runner's fell in a very large pot hole state of the roads are very dangerous but only two falls so quite lucky considering number of spectators/Runner's.

Nice community mission, with enthusiastic GoodGym-ers joining to serve food to the ChoirWithNoName prior their BlowOut Gig, including new member Juliet

Here is Stefania, Brighton GoodGym's Area Activator, and ChoirWithNoName singer, puclib talk at the event:

Most in Brighton know me as an active, sporty and enthusiastic person, with endless stamina. I am currently working with sustainable development for sports. Not many know that I like singing in choirs since my childhood. When I was motivated to walk to my community church even during cold and snowy winters after tiring skitoruing days, with blisters in my foot. Most would fall asleep in front of the telly, not me!
I moved to UK more than 20 years ago, for HE, a satisfying job and a deep interest in people and different cultures. More than 5 years ago I made a brave change of career to nurture different aspirations, with a consistent cut of salary and work environment, from international to be more Brightonian. Honestly? I still wonder if it was a good call! Brexit felt tough! Signed my face with bitter water drops and now, at times, I feel I am not fully integrated, valued or wanted even by charitable organisations or cooperatives. I have been collaborating pro-bono for a long time. Certainly, not being successful for years in job applications, without receiving constructive feedback doesn’t help to boost anybody’s confidence, does it? But, I like where I stand today! This is also thanks to GoodGym and the ChoirWithNoName, where I felt welcome since the first day I stepped in without even knowing what its name was standing for! A choir, where I could sing, again, for free! I find the ChoirWithNoName an incredibly safe and inclusive environment, full of shared empathy and boosting passion. Giving everybody a loud voice, even to those with hidden characters, emotions and frustrations we sometimes don’t dare to admit openly without feeling we are not good enough. Stimulating spontaneous friendship from a diversity of wonderful people, volunteers, a skillful choir director, Freya, and managers, Anna, Charlie, and an inspiring and value driven founder, Marie! Being valued openly for who we really are and for whatever we can bring, regardless – in my case, was enjoying cooking during the pandemic while we were singing on zoom! Soon enough this initiated several visits at my doorstep, at a distance, from members procuring me spontaneously food ingredients to cook again! I might not have experienced homeless like other members of the choir, but I needed to re-find my home in this country to re-boost my confidence.

I feel ChoirWithNoName is my home, and a great family, I am proud to be part of. Likewise GoodGym, really :-)