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!

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.

Tonight's task was to help one of Kingston's amazing local charities, RAK (Refugee Action Kingston) . RAK help out refugees in the area to integrate, live fulfilling, independent lives and become recognised and active participants in their local communities. Part of this involves the provision of clothing and other essential items. Our task tonight was to sort through a load of these donations and help organise their storage system.

As with any catch-all store, there are a few departments at RAK: Mens, Womens, Kids and Toiletries. All of these areas needed reorganising and tidying up. A recent fire inspection suggesting that all cardboard should be disposed of where possible so any items in boxes needed repacking. There were also a whole load of unsorted donations that needed to be split into department or discarded, if the quality was below-par. We separated into groups and did what GoodGym does best - use many hands to make light work. Always amazing how much can be done in a short period of time!

Welcome to Kitty and John on your first tasks! Excellent to meet you and hope to see you next time :)

For this task we met the lovely members of the residents association and local counciller Tom Reeve to help keep their vicinity clearer and tidier. Items found included clothes, carpets and a broken washing maiden. What a lovely morning spent chatting and soaking up the sun. All while making a difference, bonus.

On a glorious sunny Sunday morning, we gathered at Staywell Day Centre with 2 hours on the clock and a mission: to give the vegetable patch, flower beds, and driveway a good weeding makeover! Armed with trowels, gloves, and an eagerness to get stuck in, Amy, Alexis, Farzeen, Emily, and Jana wasted no time diving into the task.

As we worked, conversations flowed freely, with stories exchanged about our professions and daily lives. A highlight of the day was hearing about Emily's exciting news: she’s being presented with a prestigious Majors award tomorrow evening! We all shared in her excitement, which certainly helped lift the atmosphere as we tackled some particularly stubborn weeds.

At the halfway mark, we took a well-deserved break to recharge with biscuits and chocolate. Standing back, we admired our progress so far.

With renewed energy, we powered through the rest of the time, determined to make the residents proud of their newly spruced-up outdoor spaces. By the end of the session, the transformation was complete, and we couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment as we surveyed the clean, tidy garden and weed-free driveway.

It was a fantastic day of teamwork, sunshine, and stories for a worthy cause, leaving us all with smiles (and maybe a little mud) on our faces!