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! 🌱

Such a brillaint afternoon at the SALT festival! The GoodGym stall provided an opportunity for us to share how volunteering can support mental health and wellbeing. We talked about the benefits of building connections, reducing loneliness and isolation, helping your community and feeling part of something bigger. When we weren't at the stall we also got to enjoy some of the festival activities, including dancing, drumming, Pilates and even braving the ice baths (well done Jen & Dave)! A brilliant afternoon of volunteering, connection, movement and trying something new!

What a brilliant start to a Saturday. We helped other organisations, including Fostering Portsmouth, set up their gazebos and stalls after getting our own stall ready to talk to festival-goers about volunteering and the positive impact it can have on mental health and wellbeing. We also joined in with some of the festival activities, including dancing and drumming. It was a wonderful morning of volunteering, connection and community — and the sun was shining too! ☀️