Tonight 8 GoodGymers ran 6km to support the Phoenix Centre. They needed a new coat of paint - 'Lime Zest' in one room, and 'Cotton Grey' in another.

I read a "Zest for life" is the energetic, enthusiastic, and optimistic approach to daily experiences, characterized by feeling alive, motivated, and engaged.

As a key component of positive psychology, it involves treating life as an adventure, enhancing resilience, and reducing burnout.

It can be cultivated through mindfulness, gratitude, and purposeful action.

Well I think that sums up a lot of what we achieve by volunteering at GoodGym!

Care was taken to complete the task without paint splashes or blurred edges. In an hour the green room was completed and the grey wall had its first coat.

We will be back with further zest next month to continue the paint job.

Today’s task was fun, 7 GoodGymers supplemented the big group of Wild Lakenham to continue making the banks an excellent habitat for lizards to thrive in the Summer.

A few of us also did some litter picking and found lots to tidy, including an entire bike.

A task that saw GoodGymers arrive to help at different times and stay longer or shorter depending on their day, but we did all gather for the all important group photo.

Tonight 11 GoodGymer's ran 2km to Oxfam Magdalen Street store.

High 5's to Francesca who attended her first session!

It was our first visit to this store for 6 years, and store manager Ross still remembered our last visit!

The tasks was going through a large backlog of clothes donations, sorting out the resell-able quality items from the rags (cheap, worn or smelly!).

'Rag' bags are collected and recycled, and the 'keep' items are then priced up and taken to the shop floor below.

Amoungst my favourites was a vintage looking Welsh rugby shirt. Alina had her eye on a few nice items which she was able to purchase!

After 1 hour many many bags had been emptied, sorted and redistributed. Well done team. It was a great evening and we hope to return in the future!

Tonight 13 GoodGymer's ran or cycled 4km to Edmund Bacon Court.

We were joined by 12 residents to host a Xmas singalong, our final group session of 2025.

In October we had planted trees in their garden, so tonight was an opportunity to meet some of the residents for the first time. Shout out to Rachel for her first GoodGym group session.

The song list tonight was full of favourites, fast and slow, with a breather for refreshments halfway through - thanks again for the festive snacks!

It was a truly jolly evening, finishing with a rousing rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas!

Thanks all for bringing your voices and good cheer. Merry Xmas folks.

Tonight 10 GoodGymer's ran 6km to join the residents at Alfred Nichol Close for a quiz evening!

It was our first visit to this venue, set up in collaboration with Norwich City Council, with the aim to provide a social event for local residents to bring people together and eliminate isolation.

When we arrived we met 14 residents in the communal building ready to take part in a quiz. We split into 3 teams to answer 4 rounds of 60s TV, movie & music trivia.

Halfway through we took a break for tea & cake, provided by the Get Together fund, giving an opportunity for us to get to know one another a bit more.

Once the final results were in, it was time to award Table 1 with the winning prize... a fancy mug and tea infuser!

Kudos to Bob completing his first Good Deed tonight!

The evening was a great success, with requests for GoodGym to return again in the new year!