We've been to Kingston Voluntary Action's new project redistributing surplus food this summer and seen how it's been coming on.

Organiser Emma had a load of different tasks for us to do, from crushing boxes, sweeping, cleaning out their fridge as well as their van.

Anna, Amreet, Claire (expert power washer), Tom, Emma, Emily Luke, Levita, John (top leaf-blowing), Dave (skilful van driving), Rachel and first-timer Jonathan got involved in a bit of everything and we'd made a big difference by the end.

We didn't leave empty-handed, either. The great thing about a food hub is…food…and we got some water kefir and cacao bars for our trouble.

Nice to be back helping a very worthy cause.

Nightmare on Elm Park

Eight GoodGymers took advantage of a break in the rain to join the Friends of Elm Road Recreation Ground for a tough but rewarding task.

A thick carpet of leaves – and an even thicker layer of compacted soil lurking beneath – has built up along the fences of the children’s playground. Armed with hoes and spades, we fought our way through the matted weeds and nettle roots. Once loosened, the debris was swept, brushed, and bagged up - a lot of squatting and shovelling was needed!

Great to see the pile of filled sacks and the difference at the end. The fences were freed and more space was reclaimed for children to enjoy – without the sting of nettles. A proper transformation.

Fashion Police, Winter Coats & Animal Hats – Another Fun Hour at Growbaby!

This evening, our team of GoodGymmers got stuck into an hour of sorting, organising, and laughing at the always-busy Growbaby charity.

Rachel led the charge and even arranged a donation drop-off from her friend—brilliant teamwork! Levita and Jana channelled their inner fashion critics as they tackled a mountain of baby sleepsuits and snuggle bags. Their keen eyes helped fill three bin bags with items that didn’t make the cut. Honestly, it's always surprising (and sometimes baffling!) what people donate...

Meanwhile, Clair was a whirlwind of productivity, zipping through the stock and making sense of the ever-growing piles of clothes.

There was a moment of light relief when we unearthed some truly fierce animal headgear—cue laughter and an impromptu photo session. We also managed to squeeze in a few stories from summer travels while sorting, proving once again that a bit of chat makes the time fly.

Great work all round, and a big thanks to Rachel for organising another fab task!

What an absolute scorcher! Nothing like spending a hot sunny day under the plastic wrapping of gazebos. The scout fair is tomorrow so we put up the gazebos, moved equipment around and labelled up the raffle prizes. Hot, sweaty work but very satisfying.

Tonight we had three missions in one! How did we do it? Four of our volunteers went to Refugee Action Kingston to sort the kid's clothes, another went to another RAK office to hang a blind and the rest of us went to Elm Road... phew! Here's the run report about our amazing volunteers...

Nettled but Not Defeated at Elm Road!

In sweltering heat, the GoodGym crew took on the nettle jungle at Elm Road playground, working with the local community group to help reclaim the space for local kids. Armed with spades, forks, and a few poorly chosen gloves (ouch!), we tackled the stubborn roots - some so long they felt like they were heading for Narnia.

Marcos and Tom kept spirits high with sports facts while litter picking, and Rachel captured the action on camera. Newbie John gave it his all but ran out of water - thankfully, local residents came to the rescue with bottles of the good stuff!

Despite roots hiding under the fence, we cleared a massive stretch and even uncovered some old mosaic tiles. One hot, sweaty hour later, the bed was clear and the team absolutely smashed it. Great work all round!

Such a sort out at Refugee Action Kingston

Claire, Anna, Laurel and Sabir ran and walked their way to Refugee Action tonight.

We were greeted by air conditioning which was a welcome relief plus lots of children’s clothes that required sorting. Having made signs for different age categories we sorted the clothes by size for boys and girls and boxed them up so that they could be easily selected by the customers. The area is now much more organised and I’m sure we will be back to tackle the coats another day.

Driller thriller

Dave went to a RAK office to help fix a blind. In his own words has a hot sweaty mess but at least the charity workers won't be now.

GoodGym Kingston - you are simply tri-mendous!