A fresh Monday evening, a brand-new task for the team, and six brand-new GoodGymers too - what a brilliant combination!

Seven of us took part in this week's session. Three of us met at Bolton One and got the legs turning early with a steady 2-mile run over to Hacken Lane, while the remaining four met us on site, ready to get stuck in.

We were supporting our friends at Bolton Lads & Girls Club, helping give their busy Hacken Lane site a much-needed tidy-up. Armed with litter pickers, bags, gloves, and plenty of energy, we spent 30 productive minutes collecting litter from across the grounds. From stray wrappers to mystery objects hiding in the shrubs, nothing escaped the GoodGym treatment.

For six of the group, this was their first ever GoodGym session well done to: Sarah, Louise, Emma, Eve, Abigail and Sarah. Everyone mucked in brilliantly, chatted away as we worked, and made a big visible difference in a short amount of time. A massive well done to each of the new recruits - hopefully this is the first of many!

*Sarah said: *

It was my first session with GoodGym and I really enjoyed it. It was also the first time I have ever used a litter picker and it was very satisfying! It’s a great way to meet new people and help the community and I would encourage others to join and help!

With the site looking much fresher, the running trio wrapped things up with another 2-mile journey back to Bolton One.

Next Week’s Task

We’ll be supporting The Friends of Harwood and Longsight Park, attaching motorcycle-prohibition signs to waymarker posts. A hands-on, outdoorsy task with a clear purpose - and another great chance to make a difference locally.

👉 Sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/attaching-signs-to-waymarker-posts

See you next week for more good deeds!

GoodGym Bolton officially hit the ground running last night - quite literally - as our team of four pioneers came together for our very first group run and community task.

Huge credit to James, Mumtaz, Karen and Hafsa (who made the journey by bus and train) for being part of this special launch event.

Our destination was Bolton Lads and Girls Club, where we set out to lend a hand with a site tidy-up. The conversation on the way was as lively as you’d expect from a brand-new GoodGym crew - covering local history, favourite ever inventions, and the many virtues of the humble potato!

On arrival, we wasted no time and dived straight into the task like true Wombles of (Wim)Bolton, filling five big bags of litter in just 30 minutes. We tackled the bushes and entrance areas, uncovering all sorts of interesting finds - from a discarded wallet and a Covid testing kit to some truly vintage crisp and chocolate bar wrappers (we’re fairly sure there was an old Marathon wrapper in there - for the younger readers, that’s what Snickers used to be called!).

GoodGymer Hafsa said:

> I had such a great time! I litterpick a lot on my own but there’s something so much more enjoyable and special about doing it with a group. It’s such a great way to meet new people and build community.

GoodGymer James said:

> I loved being involved with the first goodgym session in Bolton. It was great to meet new people and to help out in the local community. Lovely way to spend the evening in the outdoors, being active and with some awesome people all doing some good!

A huge thank you to Bolton Lads and Girls Club for welcoming us and to our fantastic GoodGymers for making history as the first to don the red shirts in Bolton.

Next week, we’ll be meeting at 7pm at Bolton One before heading over to Sutton Estate Community Centre, where we’ll be supporting Bolton Wanderers in the Community with a site spruce-up.

Last night was more than just a tidy-up - it was the beginning of something special. Here’s to many more GoodGym adventures in Bolton!