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!

29 people came in person and 85 joined online for the OMEGA (Oxfordshire M.E. Group for Action) AGM and talk by pro Karl Morten and his colleagues

welcome Becky Sara for their first GG task with kieran megan and trev. This included putting signs up, welcoming people to the event and making sure they didnt get lost

Can I say a big thank you to Trevor and the rest of the GoodGym for all their help in directing people to the event and helping set up the refreshments. I don't think we could have managed without them. Tessa

Timekeeping on my first visit to Kingsgrove Woodland Junior Parkrun in Didcot

Barcode Scanning at University Parks after running an extra quick Parkrun.

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!