Tonight we packed 38 parcels of food and hygiene supplies and delivered 25 of them on foot around East Oxford.

Peggy was excited to show off her snazzy new jumper, we peered at each other in actual daylight, and although more than 1 of the bag handles didn't survive beyond the car park fortunately all the cheese, greek yoghurt, corned beef, milk, veggies, bread and pasta made it to the 50 recipients in tact. There may have been a couple of head-scratching moments, but nothing we couldn't sort out, and everything got delivered before it was fully dark - an exciting springtime first!

Thank you to those who answered the call for donations and brought along some hygiene supplies to replenish the bare shelves with shower gel, deodorant and sanitary products, as well as other useful and appreciated items (tin openers, chocolate).

Fresh off the back of our 2nd birthday celebrations, 29 wonderful runners, 1 fabulous trainer, and our very own mascot pooch, Peggy, were back painting the town red (and increasingly black!) for our routine Wednesday night deliveries with Oxford Mutual Aid.

After a weekend of glorious blue skies, sunshine and some much-needed vitamin D, the heavens opened on us; however no amount of rain could ever dampen our spirits!

With the promise of lighter evenings getting ever closer each week – with the light just about holding on til 7PM tonight (if you squinted your eyes titled your head and willed for it to be there hard enough!) - there was certainly a sense of excitement and hope on the horizon, further spurred on by the prospect of adding new tasks to our calendar very soon!

Perhaps too much excitement & hope from our trainer Anwen, who would come to regret confidently saying everything was going to be totally fine and under control, comments that were very quickly followed by a flood of emergency parcels and deliveries to pack and schedule last minute! Perhaps we won’t hear you saying that for a while! (Although with your super organisation skills, everything always works perfectly in the end!) – I’m sure we will still tease you about it never-the-less!

Our deliveries tonight saw 38 regular parcels and 8 emergency parcels packed. These parcels not only reached 62 adults, but also their children, including some babies too. Parcels included (very timely) Daffodils, handmade soap, lovely fresh cooked chicken and veggie meals, filled scones and some very tasty looking Eton mess! While it is remarkable how significantly fresh stock can fluctuate in availability for the parcels, it is nice to known we are still able to deliver parcels that are both personal and varied. This is only made possible by the wonderful donors we have, and the willingness of Goodgym-ers to turn up, week-in week-out and head off on a Wednesday evening adventure!

A big welcome to Angus who joined us tonight for the first time; it was an absolute delight to have you with us, and we really hope to see you again soon!

Inadvertent pun of the evening goes to Anna who realised just how deep the phrase ‘making a meal out of it’ goes, while parcel packing and distributing.

Looking forward to seeing lots of you next week, where we will no doubt be in high spirits, and can hope for less rain and more light, if not only to admire Peggy’s fabulous new barnet following her welfare groom tomorrow (Good luck Peggy and Stu )!

IT’S OUR BIRTHDAY!!

Far from hitting the terrible twos, tonight we celebrated in true Goodgym Oxford style by helping our local community and eating baked goods. In the last 2 years 2516 good deeds have been done by 238 runners (and walkers and cyclists). An amazing achievement, especially when you consider that half of this time we have been in the grip of a global pandemic!

It was so lovely to start our task in the light – actually seeing (half) of people’s faces was brilliant after what has seemed like a never-ending winter. It won’t be long until we are starting and finishing our evenings in the light – spring is a-springing!!

Oxford Mutual Aid recently featured on ITV news trying to highlight just how important the work that they do is. Demand for emergency food parcels and the general week-to-week deliveries are on the rise, and so the time that we give them is vital and gratefully received. OMA have paired with some wonderful local suppliers and restaurants; The Kitchen Collective, Taste Tibet, and most recently Syrian Sisters, all of whom provide delicious, nutritious meals which go out in the parcels we deliver. This week we delivered 40 regular and 4 emergency parcels. These deliveries helped 59 adults and several children and babies.

A huge thanks to Anwen and Martha for the delicious vegan treats and welcome to Esmee who chose an excellent evening to join us! We hope to see you again soon. A 'dedication to GoodGym' award has to go to Jessy for coming to help tonight despite being on crutches. Following in Aoife's hop-steps there!

And finally, many virtual pats on the back and foot rubs go to Rob who managed to drag himself along tonight despite finishing his amazing challenge of running 7 half marathons in 7 days to raise money for OMA. We think that you are brilliant, potty, but brilliant. Now go and have a nap!

48 parcels packed and delivered tonight; 42 for regular recipients and 6 emergency parcels. That's an all time high for us on a Wednesday evening, but you all took it in your stride and rose to the challenge.

On Random Act of Kindness Day you have made the world a better place for 62 adults plus their children and babies.

Packing parcels, restocking the shelves, unpacking deliveries and donations, dog walks...it was all going on tonight. Thanks for being the best and most helpful team in town!

Well done to Morgan and Georgia for reaching the 10 Good Deeds milestone this week.