On a balmy June Monday evening, 5 GoodGymers collected 10ish bags of discarded litter and waste.

Stefanie, Sam, Pavel, and Ben strolled from St Peter's Square via the Bridgewater Hall canal path to Hulme Park, collecting all sorts on the way:

• bottles, cans, drinks cartons 🥫
• vapes, air pods 📢
• cardboard packaging 📦
• takeaway waste 🗑

With 4 full sacks collected, and some litter hotspots identified, we met Gaynor in Hulme park, sporting her GoodGym t-shirt for the 1st time 😀

We made a loop around Hulme park, having a go on the swing and impressed with the relative lack of litter given the warm picnic-friendly weather. We did find a suitcase, some more clothing and empty money bags in the park, plus other litter, while keeping to the shade given the heat 🥵.

Litter bags were collated, location saved, and will be reported (some again) to Keep MCR Tidy for collection.

Good stroll and litter pick in the sun 🌞

Sam and Ben met up on a nice spring evening to take an active part in the GB Spring Clean 2025.

After a jog from St Peter's Square via Vimto Park (relatively litter-free with several bins nearby), we came upon the path between Manchester Piccadilly train station and O2 Apollo on the A6. With litter pickers, bag rings, and multiple rolls of GB Spring Clean refuse sacks, we set about clearing the green spaces and footpaths of discarded litter, mostly drinks bottles, cans, takeaway waste, and the odd train/metrolink ticket.

With a gig going on at the Apollo, we had a small passing audience as we tackled a litter hotspot across the road, where we found a lot of plastic drinks containers and even the odd sign from the music/gig venue where litter had accumulated.

We collected 4 full sacks in the ~60 min session, keeping warm with a run in between.

Stefanie, Sam, and Ben braved a chilly Monday evening to run the 2.3 km each way to the foodbank drop-off location at ASDA in Hulme. Inspired by Random Acts of Kindness Day, we dropped off a range of food such as rice pudding, instant noodles, pasta sauce, and peanut butter. All part of the Holiday Hunger donation drive (details below), we hope that the small donation helps those who need it.

Manchester South Central Foodbank have a Holiday Hunger donation drive to help out those children who would normally get free school meals:

"Winter is a tough time for everyone. At our food bank we are currently supporting around 100 clients a week. With the rising price of food and bills, people in our area are struggling to choose between heating and eating. You can support people in your local area by donating to us. Last year we distributed 1033 holiday hunger food parcels to families in crisis. Our Holiday Hunger project provides a lifeline for families during the school holidays, by providing food parcels containing breakfast and lunch items and reading activities."

They also have online pages for donating items:

• an online donation site to donate food online that is delivered to their warehouse
• a monetary donation page too.

Manchester Central Foodbank also have a few locations in Manchester for accepting food donations to provide for those who need it. For other nearby foodbanks/donation points, Trussell Trust have a handy search tool.

World Cancer Day is on February 4th with the campaign titled "United by Unique", placing people at the centre of care. Manchester is a hub for cancer research and much of the work we do is done with patient care as the main priority.

From Me To You are a charity inspiring people to write letters to those living with cancer. Thank you to Anwen from GoodGym Oxford who tipped me off about the charity

For the task, we divvied out the pack from the charity ranging from A4 posters to A6 flyers and even a batch of bookmarks. After a false start a SPACES near St Peter's Square, we gave out posters to:

• nearby pharmacies
• community notice boards in multiple Tesco and Sainsburys outlets
• Oxford Rd Tap who have a small section for posters
• Student halls (Vita Student First St)
• HOME Manchester
• Instituto Cervantes (small library)
• Coffee shops including a couple at Black Sheep Coffee
• Holland & Barrett

The posters and flyers are to advertise their letter writing service, both for people to receive letters and to encourage people to write letters too. We got plenty of positive reception, and even the places that couldn't take them were very polite and sorry they couldn't!

From Me To You

From Me To You also have a letter writing marathon this coming weekend for those who are inspired to put pen to paper and get involved.

Through letter writing workshops, and hints & tips on how to reach out to family and friends, 'From Me to You' charity aim to reduce the social isolation and loneliness so often associated with cancer. Writers, from all over the world, send in their letters, which are then distributed to those most in need. 'From me to You' work with partners - hospitals, cancer centres, and fellow charities - as well as sending letters directly to people’s homes, which anyone can request whenever a boost is needed.