Sheila and Vikie both helped out at the Baby Bank today, and Vikie brought 13 of her colleagues from Microsoft who were on a corporate responsibility day. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and energy levels as they got to grips with the niceties of sorting clothes to the standards required. The whole place was very busy, getting as much done as possible before the half-term break. A satisfying morning's work

Vikie and Sheila went to help out at the Baby Bank this morning. We were tasked with sorting out the ladies' clothes, which were all jumbled up and spilling out of their boxes. It was quite a challenge sorting them out and getting to grips with UK, European and US sizing. Some of them which were just labelled Small or Medium, we ended up trying ourselves to gauge the relative size It was satisfying to see everything neatly stored away in their boxes, which will make it so much easier when requests come in for certain-sized clothes. Good job!

Four GoodGymmers joined a score of other volunteers to help out at the winter refugee 'shop' this Saturday morning.

Nicola, Vikie, Diya and Kanika helped refugees select clothing, toys and shoes among other things to prepare for the winter ahead.

As the weather went from damp to warm to glorious, the people streamed in with mothers picking out clothes while the kids played with and selected their toys.

A humbling experience though it was nice to see many smiles from the patrons.

Special shout out to Nicola who stayed on beyond the task time.

Tasked downstairs sorting bags of blankets which had just been donated, before Christmas arrived early with a pallet of new toys! Rachel and Sheila really 'took it on the chin' with a near box-injury as we formed a pass along chain to move all of the toys of boxes upstairs and safely stored!

My main focus today was to move piles of new school shoes from various places in the main room, to a dedicated 'shoe room' to make it easier to find and supply shoes to children in need. This also made space in the main room for better organisation of the clothing and other supplies.

Michelle, Gail and Vikie spent time with the Baby Bank this morning, sorting through piles of donations of clothes, making sure they were great quality to be passed on, as well as organising into sizing so that the team can easily select and pack up ready for families in need. Baby Bank are currently supporting local families as well as refugee families who have recently arrived in the area.

https://www.goodgym.org/v3/profile/michelle-07705eaf-d380-4e93-bc89-d237c5ce133a https://www.goodgym.org/v3/profile/gail-lewis https://www.goodgym.org/v3/profile/vikie-fretz