Liverpool Sunflowers had asked Goodgym to help out on a task tonight. We arrived to find our instructions all set out. We love clear guidelines and Mat who had arrived first held up the instructions for us to read as we entered.

One thousand envelopes each needed to have two sunflower seeds put in and sealed.
It's one of those tasks that with 11 of us took a small amount of time, but if one person had been doing it would have taken so long. We were all congratulating ourselves on how quickly we had completed the task and how little space the thousand envelopes took up when Heetu found the second box of envelopes .... yep we had only done 500. Phew much as we love to come to Sunflowers we would have been embarrassed to have had to return having done half a job.

So task completed we left into the dark night (not long til it will be light at task end).

Welcome to Jes and Deekay on their first task look forward to seeing you again soon.

This week 12 goodgymmers ran, walked and cycled to Sunflowers Cancer Care Centre to lend a hand (or 24!) Their team do amazing work providing support to local people following a diagnosis of cancer or other life-changing illness. On our arrival at 7pm, we found virtually all the rooms full with no doubt invaluable counselling and group support sessions taking place. Our tasks for the evening included some coin counting, mould scrubbing (with appropriate safety gear and windows open of course) and wall painting. Delighted with a rare indoor task as the wind howled outside, we quickly spilt into 2 teams and got to work. With face masks and a need to not lose track of counting reducing our ability to chat somewhat, we finished all the tasks surprisingly quickly! All that was left to do was head to Lark Lane for a drink to celebrate Sallyann reaching the big 100 (deeds, not years…) and Aditya’s last group run with goodgym Liverpool. Aditya has been a very valued member of the group since July 2023 and he will be greatly missed. Tonight also marked Chris’s 40th deed and Jake’s 30th - well done everyone!

On a sunny evening in Aigburth, Goodgymers united together from various locations to meet at the Sunflowers Centre. Jennifer and Joanna cycling 8.5k in total tonight and many running or walking. This was a task with a strong message of hope behind it. Sunflowers clearly want to show that they are vibrant, extending out into the community and bringing hope to the area for those affected by cancer. So in the back yard of the centre, there was mulch to do. Nobody was seedentary for very long! In two teams of four, working in slick efficiency, a blend of compost and mulch was fitted into each biodegradable pot. A perfect bed for each seed. With the greenhouse filled and every surface near Serena, Heetu, Eimear and Chris covered, we counted 430 pots filled. Over a third of the way towards the 1260 total.

Kudos to Joanna and Serena for hitting your fifth good deeds each this evening, great work. We’ll be back in a few months to help plant the sunflowers which be an incredible sight to see on Aigburth Road. So keep it on your radar and well done for your work tonight. P.S. You have voices like angels so thank you for the birthday song!

A band of 8 merry Goodgymers came together, some at speed from Hope Street, some from across the road, some by hour and a half bus journey and all in good spirits.

Why were we in good spirits? Because we knew the importance of Sunflowers, the great work they do to support those with cancer and their families and it’s great to help those who help others. Our task was to clear furniture and to tidy the area at the side of the building so that they can host a Christmas party this weekend.

With pivots, squats and contortion the first task of moving a heavy bench out of the way was sorted. Next up was more team lifting of large fence panels. Thank you Roz for the pun! With shovels and spades, Jess, Jo, Roz and Heetu cleared the soil from the ugly storage sack and filled up the plant beds. Steph and Chris cleared the ground so it was clean underfoot for the party goers.

With the tasks completed in no time, an impromptu weeding session started as we hadn’t expended enough energy just yet. The extra work tidied up an area staff use on their breaks.

With promises of painting tasks for us no doubt we’ll be meeting Bobby soon again. In the meantime keep in mind the upcoming Birkenhead parkrun and task in early December.

Well done for coming out in the cold and helping a great charity

14 runners ran 6km and spruced up Sunflowers carpark

On a humid Monday evening 14 goodgymmers took to the streets of Liverpool and headed for Sunflowers, an independent charity which supports cancer sufferers. We were greeted by Bobby who armed us with spades, hoes and scrapers to get to work on clearing the carpark and paving of all greenery creeping up through the cracks.

After a good half hour of hard work we were ready to head home, victorious.

Special shout outs go to:

• Teddy who joined us for the first time today - we hope to see you again soon!

• And to Basma who ran amazingly even after fasting all day! Eid Mubarak.

Next week we're at the Greenhouse project and back in the capable hands of Char. Hope to see you all there!

Nine nifty runners ran 6km to lend a hand at south Liverpool's cancer care centre, Sunflowers.

The team felt quids in when I announced that contrary to expectations, we had an indoors task. That said, the night was still and not too cold in comparison to what we faced at last week's Group Run and during Sunday's Liverpool Half Marathon.

Sunflowers is a centre that supports people whose lives have been touched by cancer. It is a steady 3km run from our Hope Street base and we've helped them a few times now. So they knew that they could count on GoodGym for help with another task.

Tonight's task was to count small change collected by Sunflowers' fundraisers at events over the weekend. The team got stuck in penny picking and 5p shuffling. In the end, we counted well over £200.

This week's shout out goes to John, who we're super glad to have back after surgery.

But the bottom line is that you all did a cracking job.

Even though I was very achy after Sunday's brutal Liverpool Half, I encouraged the team to do a quick fitness session thinking about balance and how we can incorporate little bits of training into the everyday. Because running can change your life; after all the best things in life are free.

NEXT WEEK we've got a nice run to a hidden burial ground/community garden and then on 25 March it is our special birthday run followed by CAKE. So get signing up.

P.S. Details about Liverpool Spring 10km are here and info about the GoodGym Olympics is here.