Our first group session of 2026 saw us back at Little ARK and on such a chilly evening we were grateful for Syebvonne's warm welcome and a plentiful supply of hot drinks and Turkish delight. The evening's jobs included stuffing draught excluders, ironing on and cutting out labels, and screwing the legs onto a table. Chris and Erol also went beyond the call of duty to source a drill bit in order to attach coat hangers to a door. This creative space is looking better all the time. Well done everyone and especially to our first-timers Lina, Chris and Felicidade. We hope to see you again soon.

We kicked off the first GoodGym session of 2026 with a high-energy morning at Morden Parkrun! It was a brilliantly busy turnout; with a nearby event cancelled, we saw a huge influx of runners eager for their first Saturday 5k of the year.

The team braved the icy, cold temperatures to support the core volunteer crew, keeping the finish funnel flowing smoothly and warming up our hands with some post-run token sorting. Despite the chill, the atmosphere was fantastic - a perfect way to ring in the new year with the local community.

It wasn’t just about volunteering today! Two of our team decided to pull on their trail shoes, braving the icy paths to join the masses for a brisk 5k. It was a proper fresh start to 2026, with the cold air and slippery ground making for a focused training session. A great way to bank some early miles for the year and contribute to RED January - can we keep the momentum going?

What began as an impromptu plan to break up the day turned into a very productive session as seven GoodGymers arrived to transform a corner of the park. Working alongside the Friends of Morden Park, the team made light work of a once-neglected area by clearing stubborn brambles and laying a fresh woodchip path. It was a fantastic example of how we can help with a community space. There's plenty more to do so we will be back but the Friends meet every Wednesday at 10.30am and would welcome extra hands - so feel free to get in touch if you want to get this session listed more regularly.

Stepping in to help the Morden Parkrun team with the post-run token sorting this morning. It was a properly chilly one, and with volunteers in short supply, it was the best way to acknowledge the team (given a few other events had been cancelled due to lack of volunteers), although sorting tiny plastic tokens with frozen fingers is definitely a test of patience.

We headed over to Faith in Action to help out with the lunch service today to fulfill a last-minute request as their volunteer team is a bit thin on the ground at this time of year, and honestly, seeing the scale of the lunch they’d served, they definitely needed the extra hands.

We spent an hour elbow-deep in suds, working our way through a mountain of washing and drying up. Once the kitchen was under control, we moved into the hall for the post-lunch workout: shifting furniture, vacuuming, and mopping the floors until there wasn't a crumb left. It was a solid team effort leaving the place spotless and we hope to be invited back soon.