It was a super warm night tonight but it didn’t stop 10 committed Goodgym runners from coming together for their weekly run and task.

Tonight, runners made their way to the task – some cycling and some walking. It was definitely a nice night for bike ride as the breeze was very welcome!

We met at the old Manchester University building – now used for other purposes, more recently acting as the bustling COVID vaccine hub. For many of our volunteers, they were very familiar with the surroundings having spent so much time volunteering there during lockdown!

We started our evening with a warmup – as the children have recently returned to school, we gave it a school playground theme (not sure how happy everyone was about that, lol!). Our exercises included skipping, hopscotch, jumping (like we used to do in the sack race!) and a good old run (I didn’t go so far as to make them play ‘tick’). And based on last week’s community mission, I thought Nigel might appreciate some kiddie-based activities!

We had two groups tonight – a running group and a walking group. It was a hot evening, so we had a very steady run around the business park. It doesn’t sound very exciting but actually, it’s quite a green business park with lots of trees and greenery (maybe next time, we’ll take in the woodland area).

After our exercise, we headed across to Autism Inclusive where we started the task of apple picking. Some of us collected apples from the floor, while others picked straight from the tree. Apples had to be sorted into 3 categories – rotten, slightly inedible but not too bad, and good. The rotten apples were collected and went straight to compost, the slightly inedible apples were collected by a local cider company (reducing waste) and the good apples were going to the food bank.

It was a lovely evening, and it was wonderful to see other members of the community coming together to support this task. We worked alongside co-cop pioneers, local volunteers as well as the Town Council Mayor. We had good conversation and good fun. It was another successful evening filled with fun, friendship, fitness and the feel-good factor.

Hopefully the children that use the facilities of Autism Inclusive will no longer have to dodge the apples as they play!

Well done everyone. Amazing community spirit as always!

xxxx

This week, we have been super busy down at the local COVID vaccine hub once again. We are so proud to be doing our bit in helping this vital vaccine delivery programme roll out across our community.

We welcomed lots more people as they came to receive their vaccines. As always, some lovely feedback from people who were grateful to receive their jabs and grateful for the lovely volunteers giving up their time to help out with such an important task.

We really humbled and privileged to be playing such a big part in this vital process and are grateful for the opportunity to be so involved ❤

This week, we have been super busy down at the local COVID vaccine hub once again. We are so proud to be doing our bit in helping this vital vaccine delivery programme roll out across our community.

We welcomed lots more people as they came to receive their vaccines. As always, some lovely feedback from people who were grateful to receive their jabs and grateful for the lovely volunteers giving up their time to help out with such an important task.

We really humbled and privileged to be playing such a big part in this vital process and are grateful for the opportunity to be so involved ❤

Motherwell is a local charity that does amazing work to support women and their families in our community. They have spent many months collecting and sorting donated uniform to support families that aren't able to provide their own. With the pandemic leaving many families in financial hardship, the uniform exchange has been greatly welcomed. Now that children are back at school again (with many having had growth spurts), it means that families are finding themselves in the position of having to provide another set of uniform for their children.

Tonight, 11 members made their way to one of two venues. Our task this week was to move the boxes from St. Paul's which is where the uniform was being stored, to Motherwell's new offices about 2 miles away. One team loaded up the boxes into the vans/cars at St. Pauls while the other team unloaded at the new offices.

Now that all the uniform is in the right place, the clothes are going to be sorted and displayed like a small shop to enable people to come and choose their own items.

It was a lovely night being able to catch up with some of our awesome Goodgym family again. And as always, many hands make light work and despite there being a lot of boxes, we soon got them all shifted.

Tonight also marked Karen's 50th task!!! Well done Karen!!

Thanks for all being so awesome and giving your time and enthusiasm so freely.

Look forward to seeing you all again soon,

Lots of love & big (virtual) hugs Nicola ❤ xx

This week, we have been super busy down at both of the local COVID vaccine hubs once again. With Goodgym members volunteering at almost every session that was run across both hubs! We are so proud to be doing our bit in helping this vital vaccine delivery programme roll out across our community.

We welcomed lots more people as they came to receive their vaccines. Some lovely feedback from people who were grateful to receive their jabs and grateful for the lovely volunteers giving up their time to help out with such a vital task.

We really humbled and privileged to be playing such a big part in this vital process and are grateful for the opportunity to be so involved ❤