GoodGym Kingston smashed out another session at the amazing Growbaby this evening. After we had all run, walked or cycled there, we were greeted with a long list of tasks to tick off so we got straight to it.

Tom, Sabir and Dave were upstairs sorting out the bookshelves, toy boxes and board game cupboard, Claire, Mel, Skyla and Chloe were tasked with sorting out the huge amount of donations that were dropped off by DLAG at the weekend - nappies, wipes and babyfood to give out to the local families in need. Jana amassed a load of clothing to hang out on the rail for the families to browse when the charity was open the following day. Rachel kept us all in check and made sure the jobs were done well and within the time!

A big welcome to Skyla and Chloe on their first good deed! Lovely to have you along and hope to see you soon.

The third task of the day took us to Growbaby to help move the DLAG donations. They had very kindly held two collections outside Waitrose in Surbiton and Kingston and collected a large amount of nappies, wipes, sanitary pads, baby wash and baby food. This was kindly brought to Growbaby but needed to taken downstairs so it wasn't in the way of attending groups which is why GoodGym Kingston were asked to help.

We met at 4pm and as Michelle and Petra counted and logged the donations, Rachel, Dave and Tanya started to move the items downstairs. It was just a tidy up session so we were done and dusted in the hour as the main sorting will take place on Tuesday evening. Come and join us if you can help out.

Special thanks to Petra for setting up the task for DLAG and GoodGym Kingston to benefit the local families of Growbaby Kingston. Over £1300 worth of donations were gratefully received - it will make such a positive impact to families in need.

GoodGym Kingston were off to local charity Growbaby this evening, a regular destination for our Tuesday evening run. As per usual we had a whole host of tasks awaiting us...

A crew of flat-pack builders set to work constructing 4 new STOOLS. This was a lot more involved than any of us had expected but fortunately Farzeen brought the right TOOLS for the job!

Meanwhile, donations needed to be sorted with food items being checked for best before dates and nappies sorted into sizes and stacked

Luke made sure that Growbaby were abiding by the RULES, ensuring that the fire exit was free and clear of obstructions.

Finally, Jana set about preparing a clothes rail for seasonal baby clothes... lots of blankets, sleep-bags, wellies, rain coats and CAGOULES... just the job for these rainy days.

Lots done and an enormous sense of well-being at the end. 5k in the bag for good measure too! Mission complete.

Another trip to Growbaby and we set out to complete the tasks on our original list (the last visit used all our resources to pack away the nappies, wipes and food that was kindly donated by Dons Local Action Group). We met up at the Quaker Centre and Emma, Claire, Luke and Dave ran to Growbaby whilst Rachel and Farzeen took a speedy stroll to get to the venue. We met Jana, Julie and Petra there and divided up the tasks.

Claire took her regular position and sorted out the nappy mountain, Emma and Julie took the toys to task and methodically cleared each box discarding the random bits of plastic that had accumulated in the bottom, Luke and Farzeen went through all the baby food and milk making sure that it was unpacked and all in date, Petra and Jana set up the rail displaying warm coats and winter boots ready for collection, and Dave sorted the board games making sure all the pieces were in place.

It was a whirlwind of activity and lots was achieved in the hour we were there. Big shout out to Dave on achieving the most amount of kms in the January Challenge - where on earth will you display your trophy?! And a warm welcome to Farzeen and Luke who are newest joiners - really appreciating your keenness! See you at another task soon.

Our task tonight did not go according to plan at all... far from it in fact.

But not in a bad way.

We started the evening at Growbaby with a long task list, most of which got written off after only a few minutes of being there. A couple of days ago, Petra had discussed with Wimbledon Dons Local Action Group, a local charity, about collecting a 'few' items for Growbaby and had arranged delivery for when GoodGym were there. When the Dons arrived, their van was stacked to the brim with nappies, wipes, baby food, milk, etc. The biggest donation in Growbaby's history! Good job we had 12 eager GoodGymers to get stuck in and sort it out!

We formed a human chain to transfer the countless boxes from the van to inside Growbaby. Rachel then did an amazing job of directing us all with what needed to be done and where everything needed to go.

This task was a bit of a baptism of fire for a couple of new recruits, Adam & Flora... hope you enjoyed it and hope to see you at another one soon! Good to see Lucy from Richmond too.

As much as there was a lot to do, it was amazing how many hands made light work. We spent a little longer at the task than we usually would but it was certainly satisfying to do so much in the time that we had. Mission accomplished.

Helped sort the donations to keep the storage zone clean and tidy. We had bags of toys, clothes and prams to organise today and lots of parents visited to pick up items for their kids. Busy day but slight lull after the holidays - expect it to be busy next week!

Last night’s storm had brought down a tree and unfortunately it had landed on some cars in the car park opposite.