Rachel White

GoodGym Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon ThamesCommunity mission
Rachel White

Leafleting in the sun

Saturday 14th June

Written by Rachel White

A lovely, sunny morning and what better way to spend it than going for a walk and doing some leafleting for Folar.They have lots of fun activities planned for the kids in the local area as well as music events. If you're free then head on over!

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Kingston upon ThamesGroup run
+4
LukeTom PeacockMarcos CastroSabir Babaiy MajdarAnnaShekinah Oku

Hanging out; with bunting and more bunting

Tuesday 10th June

Written by Jade

Ready for the bi-annual bunting challenge tonight the team headed along to Jubilee Square. The age-old question of "how many GoodGymers does it take to put up bunting?" was certainly answered as we completed the job with almost half an hour to spare, then endeavoured to add a little more... bunting!

Getting the many hands organised with ladders, rolls of bunting and a trusty staple gun was an interesting test of coordination and precision. And of course, no GoodGym session is complete without an impromptu good deed - we squeezed in a quick litter pick to make sure the area is at it's best ahead of Saturday's Good Food, Green Fair and some over-timers stayed behind to help finish chalking out the stall locations, ensuring plenty of space for the main stage.

What a lovely evening and welcome to Shekinah and congratulation on your first task - we hope to have you back soon.

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Kingston upon ThamesGroup run
+6
Emma CroweLukeFarzeen HuqMarcos CastroAmy Rogers

GoodGym Avengers assemble (a desk)

Tuesday 3rd June

Written by Rachel White

Our group run this week took us to Refugee Action Kingston and we were tasked with jobs at two different locations. Claire, Dave, Emma and Farzeen all ran and walked to one of the offices were they were asked to take apart a desk so that it could be transported to the other location. They were a very efficient team and they got to work making sure all the screws were accounted for so there would be no issue with reassembly. A staff member then drove the desk in her car to the second location while the runners transported themselves to help unload.

The second location was where all the other GoodGymers were hanging out and organising the rest of the shelving units. The women's clothing area and toiletries was tidied up by Tom, Anna and Marcos, Amy got stuck in to the bunting making sure there were no knots and neatly folding it ready to put away, and Raquel and Luke sorted the menswear. As soon as the desk arrived it went up in the lift and was reassembled well within the hour we had there.

A great session with lots of big and small jobs completed. Heidi from Refugee Action Kingston was so grateful that these jobs were completed as it then frees them up to concentrate on other important tasks within the organisation. So well done team! Thank you for all your help.

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Kingston upon ThamesCommunity mission
Harvey Gallagher
Matthew Stuart

Pick a lot!

Saturday 7th June

Written by Kingston upon Thames runner

2 goodgymers from different areas went on a scavenger hunt around their local streets and open spaces, finding and disposing off litter in the right rescepticals. Every little bit helps improve the environment for all.

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Kingston upon ThamesCommunity mission
Jana
Sabir Babaiy MajdarAnnaEmma CroweFarzeen Huq

From Grime to shine at the Bradbury Day Centre!

Sunday 8th June

Written by Jana

It was all hands on deck (and trowels in the soil) as a crack team of GoodGymmers—Jana, Emily, Emma, Sabir, Farzeen, and Anna—headed to the Bradbury Day Centre to help them get summer-fair ready! With Clair from the Centre giving us our marching orders, we set out to transform the outdoor space in just two hours… and what a transformation it was!

Farzeen didn’t waste a second, diving into a corner of the garden destined to become the Silent Disco Zone—because who doesn’t want to boogie among the begonias? With her speedy hands and creative flair, she not only cleared and cut back overgrown plants but also helped place a perfectly summery bench in the area. By the end, it was practically begging for a party.

Emma turned multitasking into an art form—sweeping, weeding, brushing, and even giving the windows a shine. If there had been a "Best All-Rounder" medal, she'd have earned it before tea time.

Emily took on the artistic challenge of the day: painting the raffle tombola. But that wasn’t enough—she then went into full transformation mode in the greenhouse. Despite a surprise ant invasion, she bravely cleared out old debris and reorganized the entire space, turning it from “abandoned jungle” to “garden showroom chic”.

Sabir arrived and brought his weeding A-game to the front of the centre, steadily amassing a mountain of weeds like a gardening machine. His dedication made a huge impact—especially to the front-facing first impression.

Anna arrived fashionably late (thanks to a very late night on the dancefloor!) but was full of energy and good vibes. She brightened up the space by hanging bunting inside and out, transforming it into full-on summer fair territory. Glitter optional, joy guaranteed.

Jana tackled the patio, giving it the weeding equivalent of a deep tissue massage—by the end, it was ready to welcome a hundred fair-goers with open slabs.

We were powered throughout by cups of tea and an excellent biscuit selection—essential fuel for community transformation. As a bonus mission, Emma and Jana took to the streets to flyer the local area and even charmed their way into a church to get a poster on the notice board. Local outreach: complete.

To wrap up (literally), we bundled up prizes for the Lucky Dip and admired the results of a job very well done.

So here’s to a fabulous fair on Wednesday—we’ll be cheering you on, Bradbury Day Centre!

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Kingston upon ThamesCommunity mission

Chop and trim

Sunday 1st June

Written by Kingston upon Thames runner

This morning in the sunshine, vegetation was chopped and trimmed to show off flowers or to make the beds more pleasing on the eye to people and bees 🐝 alike

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