Last night was our third painting session at OXSRAD disability and sports hub. The whole centre is getting a refresh inside, which is a mammoth task for just the staff to take on!

We've helped repaint the studio, corridor and around the reception area previously, and last night we moved to the entrance lobby and the other side of the corridor. Lucky for us the painting has coincided with the clock change, so it's been a treat to have a regular indoor task. It's also surprisingly satisfying seeing the progress from aging cream walls to smart new blue and white.

This week we had the joy of Nelson the bulldog-beagle mix along for the session - we always enjoy a dog at a GoodGym task! With one more painting session scheduled this year we're determined to have OXSRAD spruced up and looking fabulous in time for Christmas.

Thank you for bringing the delicious waffles Shati!

For a handful of years we have had regular sessions throughout autumn and winter doing a deep clean of the Oxford Mutual Aid food bank in Cowley. The day-to-day operations of food bank leave little time for the kind of thorough clean which involves moving shelving and crates, so we try to lighten the load for their regular volunteers by taking on this task.

We tackle a section of the main hall each month (where toiletries, baby supplies and ambient food are stored), and make sure that the whole kitchen gets a clean every month (which is where the fresh fruit and veg is stored). It's an "all hands on deck" operation, involving moving stock, shifting shelves and crates, sweeping, mopping, dusting, and bleaching.

Session one of AW 2024/5 now complete!

Welcome to GoodGym Sasha and Max!

With the clocks changing last weekend we're into dark evenings for the next few months. Sport England's This Girl Can campaign is continuing the "Let’s Lift The Curfew" campaign, launched in 2023, to showcase women’s stories and concerns around getting active outdoors in the darker months, as well as calling on wider society to acknowledge their role in making getting active outdoors safer for women.

This year, This Girl Can is looking to go bolder and bigger, so they are partnering with GoodGym to help transform the campaign into a nationwide movement that can raise awareness and take critical steps towards making outdoor exercise safer for women.

This week we met for a 1 mile run to our task location, with 5 of us trotting and chatting in the dark. Head and chest torches definitely help us feel safer in the dark, and group exercise is always more fun than solo running.

Once we got to OXSRAD and met the rest of the group we picked up where we left off a few weeks ago - painting the reception areas, corridor and studio to refresh the Disability Hub & Sports Centre. Some of our painting from last time got high praise, so we all tried to "Be More Bethan and Katie" this time round. Painting and chatting is a lovely mindful task, so we're looking forward to another session here in 2 weeks time.

Welcome to GoodGym Helen and Isobel - lovely to meet you both.

This Wednesday we had a spooktacular plogging poster distribution challenge.

Here at GoodGym Oxford we like a bit of healthy competition, and nothing quite gets that spirit fired up like a scavenger hunt with a purpose. With Halloween just around the corner we had a ghost-themed hunt this week. We divided into 2 teams: Runners and Walkers. Each team was given a list of haunted locations, 5 GoodGym posters, a litter bag and 2 litterpickers. Points were awarded for every poster pinned up, every haunted location visited, and for spotting a variety of Halloweenesque decorations (ghosts, broomsticks, pumpkins, cats and witches hats). There was also a requirement to clear up litter as you buzzed around the City.

It was neck-and-neck between the teams on posters displayed and locations collected, but the walkers truly spectacular 50 pumpkins had them whipping the win out from under the runners feet.

Our brains got a good workout from the strategising, our legs got moving, litter was picked, we learnt about the history and mythology of Oxford, and GoodGym was publicised...a win on many levels!

This Wednesday we had a very welcome indoor task! OXSRAD is Oxford's fully inclusive sports and recreation centre for all ages, open to disabled and non-disabled users. It aims to improve the physical health and mental wellbeing of all its users through fitness, recreation, rehabilitation and therapeutic activities.

The centre requested GoodGym's assistance in repainting their interior. The walls haven't been painted for decades, and the centre staff were finding it a bit overwhelming to try to do it all themselves.

Enter the GoodGym flash mob!

Tooled up with rollers, step ladders, and paint brushes we got painting in the studio, corridor, and main reception area. While some took approaches Michelangelo would be proud of, others preferred the "slip, slap, slop" approach. Special mention to Ben for the double roller action! All techniques turned out to have their place, and we got loads done before downing tools at 7:30pm.

We'll be back a couple more times through the autumn. Good work team!

Welcome to GoodGym Chloe!