Meggie, Sol and Sheila welcomed Claire to her very first GoodGym mission at the Community Allotment. We were also joined by taskowner Sue, which was great as she knew exactly what she needed us to do. An area of the Allotment which had been used for composting needed to be cleared to make way for some new raised beds. While Sheila moved planks and stored wood away from the area, Sol moved leaves and twigs away from one bay, while Meggie and Claire filled bags with the matured compost from another. By the end of the session we had successfully cleared the area and had several bags of compost ready for use. It was a really satisfying task and we could all see the difference we had made. We look forward to seeing Claire at a future GoodGym session.

Jen and Sheila went to help Ms E with sorting out her paperwork. Due to her condition, she doesn't have the energy to do this herself and it has been piling up into a bigger and bigger job. There was a large box with all sorts of paper in - receipts, bank statements, medical info, train tickets, notification of a football pools win! Some of these could be thrown away, others we sorted into piles so that Ms E could decide whether to keep them or not. We threw lots away into the recycling bin, and Ms E was pleased with the progress. She suddenly hit a wall of tiredness so we decided to call it a day and promised to make a return visit

It was a busy morning at the Baby Bank, and with a corporate team in from Centrica, Sheila and Carol were kept busy with doing the second checks on clothes and storing them away in the appropriate boxes. Caroline was asked to do checks on the men's and women's clothes donations, followed up by shoes. Meanwhile after a brief spell answering the door, Karen had the fun task of distributing the Christmas clothing amassed throughout the year into the boxes ready to give out to families. Yes folks, Christmas is coming!

Every now and then, a mission comes along which reminds us of why we love GoodGym and why it is so rewarding. Yesterday was one of those. Kanika and Diya signed up for a task to help an elderly, home-bound lady with her iPhone so she could FaceTime with her poorly daughter. 

We arrived to find out that the phone which had been given to her by her son-in-law, was not charging. She had had the charger on all day, yet the battery was dead. We tried the usual: different plug points, another charger, tighten the cable - nothing worked. Then a brainstorm, "let's remove the protective back cover and try." That did the trick!

While the phone was charging, she told us her daughter had been in a coma and is now recovering at home but is completely reliant on care givers. The elderly lady cannot visit because of her own medical conditions, and so they haven't seen each other ever since the daughter came out of the hospital. Enter, ✨ Technology ✨

We connected them on a video call...and the smiles were everything! Both mum and daughter were giggling away, so happy to see each other and excited that they would continue to, everyday. 

We sat a while for some more family stories and then left, with the lady full of gratitude and our hearts full of warmth. It was one of those truly feel-good missions where you can see the instant impact and it's priceless 😇

Five GoodGymmers met at the Spencer Denney Centre in Windsor for another round of leafletting for Age Concern.

The leaflets were promoting the centre’s activities for older people and their upcoming fundraising events — this time a Bingo/Quiz and a Bubbles and Baubles session! They sound like great fun and everyone is welcome.

The team set off up the hill with a couple of target roads requested by the Centre. We quickly split into groups: Sol and Juli tackling the right side, Jess on the left, and Anne‑Laure and Angela looping around the crescent. We moved at lightning pace, seeking out letterboxes, dodging doggies and mastering front gates. Within just half an hour, 150 leaflets were dispatched and we headed back to the Centre!

We hope the local community supports the Spencer Denney Centre so it can continue its brilliant work supporting older people in the area.

Angela, Laura and Sheila were found an indoor task at Braywick Heath Nurseries today due to the weather. 3 trays of miniature plug plants of violas and pansies needed to be pricked out into six-packs, ready to be grown up ready for the winter season. 1,225 plants later, our job was done