A cold fast run led our evening to the warm welcome of our yesterday’s host: the Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project. BUCFP was set up in 1981 and is a registered charity providing practical support, education, advice and much more to the unemployed and those in poor living conditions, benefit claimants, the unwaged, pensioners, families and those on low incomes in Brighton & Hove. The centre is run by volunteers for the benefit of all users, alongside a small team of part time paid workers.

All are welcome!

The centre is organising several festive events, including a ‘Community Christmas Lunch‘ with activities and presents on the 13th December and a ‘Families Christmas Party‘ on the 15th December. Lots of presents needed to be wrapped for the event’s raffle and this was our task yesterday! What a fun session, really. Reminded my childhood when my favourite entertainment was apparently to wrap-up everything in the house making to find things a real challenge for my parents 😊

We enjoyed fully wrapping presents and we ended up our session with a present ourselves, leaving the centre with a big smile on our faces and a loaf of rustic bread – surplus food. A nice welcome to new member Patrizia

Summer is here, it's official! 13 Good Gym runners met to run and walk up the steep hill to Brighton Unemployed Familes Project. We celebrated Pippa's 50 good deeds in her absence and welcomed new member Michael . Oranganised by Sarah, this seemed a simple task at first but proved deceptive. Joy from Brighton Unemployed Families Project told us the project had been running for 42 years and provided practical support, education and much much more to local families. Recently one group of families had 13 different languages between them! It was a lovely large space that backed on to Tarner park. Our task was to sort the many donations of baby and children's clothes. First it was suggested we sort by type of clothing, then by gender but then mother-to-be Catherine suggested by age. This proved the winning formula and our team made good progress. We were amazed by the end of the session that we had sorted at least half of the clothes. And there were some very cute clothes including baby sleeping bags and an elf's costume! The other team had to take many boxes up to the top floor where there was more room and also were very successful in sorting the clothes, although I think by the end of it some of us were going a bit ga ga !

For our first mission after lockdown, five Brighton Goodgymers (Abi, David, Rosie, Tara and Amro) ran/walked and cycled to Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project (BUCFP) that provides practical support, education, advice and much more to struggling families living in challenging conditions.

We were warmly welcomed by Judy and Joy, who explained to us our task which was to help them wrap Christmas gifts donated by multiple charities to be distributed to kids from the families they support.

We worked in teams; Abi and myself wrapped gifts for kids aged 4 to 6, Rosie and David wrapped gifts for kids aged 5 to 7, while Tara took on wrapping gifts for kids aged 8+.

Time passed quickly between selecting toys, matching them with the kids' name list and wrapping them with festive paper while chatting about our upcoming plans for the holidays. Rest assured that all the kids were on Santa's Nice list for the year 2020.

We finished the task very quickly and Judy & Joy (who offered us warm drinks and chocolates to boost our energy) were thrilled with the outcome and said that it made them feel lifted up knowing that the task of wrapping gifts is out of their way in preparation for the Christmas gifts distribution event they are having on Sunday.

We said our goodbyes to the lovely ladies at BUCFP and headed on our separate ways feeling happy and rather festive after completing this mission.

W-rappers Delight By Amro Tabari A Brighton State of Mind (The Christmas Hip Hop) Yeah, yeah Ayo, my people, it's time to rap Straight outta the festive dungeons of the upcoming COVID jab

Another GoodGym mission to fill the gap

The Gifts drop deep so does my skid I run, 'cause to run is what I did Beyond the walls of toys, life is defined. I think of Christmas gift wrapping when I'm in a Brighton state of mind.

Hope the lifts got some shifts. My ifs don't like no dirty cliffs. Run up to the petroglyphs and get the riffs.

In a Brighton state of mind. What more could you ask for? The enthusiastic Gifts? You complain about cold weather and the windy cliffs. I gotta love it though - somebody still speaks for the riffs.

I'm rappin' to the Christmas, And I'm gonna move your isthmus.

Nice and naughty, like a Santa Girl, I tell ya, I thought you were a Fanta.

I can't take the cold weather but can take the Gift Wrapping. I woulda tried to wrap but I guess I got no tapping.

I'm rappin' to the isthmus, And I'm gonna move your Christmas.

Yea, yaz, in a Brighton state of mind.