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 :)

It was a last-minute change of plans, but that didn’t stop this dedicated GoodGym crew from getting out and spreading the word about Kingston’s newest community initiative—Park Play!

With the Albany session cancelled, we quickly regrouped and set our sights on Fairfield Recreation Ground, ready to let the locals know that Saturday mornings were about to get a whole lot more fun.

Splitting into teams, we tackled the nearby streets, armed with flyers and boundless enthusiasm. Jana, Rachel, and Raquel formed one squad, Luke, Anna, and Martel took on another route, while Dave, Emma, and Clare covered even more ground. The mission? Get those flyers through as many letterboxes as possible—without losing any fingers to enthusiastic canine guardians!

Top tip of the night? Use a wooden spoon to safely post through letterboxes. Unfortunately, we had none. So, with a mix of courage and caution, we did it the old-fashioned way.

Despite the clear skies, a sharp chill in the air had us all working at double speed. But nothing warms a GoodGym session like teamwork, good vibes, and a post-flyering trip to the pub! Drinks were raised, food was enjoyed, and plans were made for the next adventure.

Park Play is set to bring people together for fun and games every Saturday—so spread the word, and we’ll see you there!

Tonight we were off into the unknown at the Save The World Club. As they had collected various items to stop them from going to landfill it meant that there was a lot to sort out before moving premises.

After a brisk run / cycle there our first task was pretty simple moving chairs, bookcases, tables and sideboards downstairs ready to load on to the van. Luke, Tom and Dave tackled the heavy items whilst Ana, Ana, Claire, Raquel, Amreet and Emily moved all the drawers and chairs.

Mission accomplished we headed into the dark to see what was lurking outside. There was a bonfire for paper and wood that we uncovered and a shed full of paint pots that needed moving out.

We also filled the skip with an assortment of items that couldn’t be recycled from envelopes to plastic wrapping and a weird candelabra decoration.

At the last moment Des arrived with the van so we were able to load it up on our way out so that the furniture could find new homes.

Happy Bonfire night Sabir 🔥

Saturday morning 6 GoodGymers were back at Canbury Community Garden to help Marilyn transfer the old compost into the new bins at the shady end of the garden. Team 1 prepared the new compost bin area under the watchful eye of resident Robin. Team 2 dug up the old compost pile, giving it a good stir and wheelbarrowed it over to the new bins. The four hens helper soon dived in, scratching for food and wriggly treats. The old bins will soon be torn down to make way for some new planters!