After the May Fayre, St Mary's Church found themselves in possession of four abandoned gazebos. Despite trying to reunite them with their owners, they remained unclaimed.

GoodGym were called in to test them all out to check they were fully-functioning and in decent condition. After testing they were structurally sound, we then donned their little gazebo hats and packed them away for use next spring. One of the four had to be discarded, along with a couple of the bags, but three have joined the ranks for regular use. Interestingly, there were five "hats", so there are even two of those spare for future use.

Despite a complete lack of appropriate terminology ("have you compressed your inner button?" was probably the phrase of the evening), teamwork made the dream work, and our task was complete.

Anna also gave us a run down on an upcoming interactive art installation coming to St Mary's, Stretch, which they are keen to have GoodGym support with. Keep your eyes peeled for more information, which I will share when it come!

Thanks Jim for bringing along son Thomas to his first ever GoodGym session!

Looking a bit mad and potentially dangerous, we ran down Hilsea Lines baring spades and pitchforks, before connecting back to Northern Parade to the location of our task. Two of the residents at Redbridge showed us where they wanted the vegetable garden located, and we worked together to decide on dimensions.

We may not have made a perfectly parallel patch (more of a trapezoid, for those who want specifics when it comes to quadrilaterals), but a huge amount of earth was turned over, ready for planting. Thomas was an absolute trench-edging pro, despite not having ever dug one before. New skill unlocked!

We had another pleasantly menacing run back to the Lido to round off the evening.

Kingston Rec is always a treasure trove for litter picking, so what better place for Round 2 of Litter Pick Bingo!

Rob joined us for his first official GoodGym task, after his usual Bad-Minton session had been sadly cancelled. In probably one of the wildest coincidence in litter pick history, we found one of the pin badges that Rob gives out at the training he delivers half-buried in dirt under a bench!

Katie was the first to claim "Bingo!" on her card, but was usurped when Jim came in close behind, but with an actual item of clothing, rather than a rubber glove!

Sinéad was first to fill her bag, and probably had the weirdest find with a full outfit and a wig, found in a bush. Katie did get the final prize for heaviest bag, thanks to a shopping basket and a metal post!

Dave had a "Dirty Dancing" moment, where he carried a watermelon, and Rob found a lone "Chess" piece, carrying on the musical theme.

Well done, everyone!

Last night was a special GoodGym Portsmouth session – and a little different from our usual Wednesday evening!

After a run led by Jen, we headed to Aspex Gallery, where we were joined by volunteers from across Portsmouth – 25 of us in total!

The evening was part of Aspex’s COMMUNAL programme and Portsmouth 100, celebrating 100 years of Portsmouth as a city. Huge thanks to Aspex for bringing us together to imagine the next 100 years of volunteering.

We were welcomed by a brilliant photo wall of 50+ GoodGym Portsmouth photos celebrating connection, joy and community.

And a huge shoutout to Alex from GoodGym Central, who joined us from London. Alex was there when GoodGym launched in Portsmouth in 2018!

Using Appreciative Inquiry, we shared stories of volunteering at its best and explored what made those experiences special. Our themes included joy, purpose, friendship, community, environmental impact, inspiration – and embracing the weird!

Then we jumped forward to 2126, imagining the National Volunteering Awards. The acceptance speeches were hilarious, heartwarming and full of ideas about the future.

Perhaps in 100 years we won’t need litter picking because nobody drops litter anymore. ❤️

We finished by asking how we can share the story of volunteering – including asking “How do you help your community?” rather than “What do you do?”, and celebrating what’s in it for volunteers: friendship, connection, confidence, purpose and joy.

Because volunteering isn’t just about giving.

It’s about what we create together. ❤️

Huge thanks to Aspex, Portsmouth 100, Ideas Alliance, GoodGym Central and everyone who came along.

Here’s to the next 100 years! 🌱