We returned to the Fitzherbert Community Hub to help our friends from the Real Junk Food Project with some essential cleaning and tidy up work of this popular venue for local communities.

It was a special evening for GoodGym Brighton as we were invited by ITV Meridiam to shine our best smile and speech in front of a camera – we were all stars yesterday evening!

What do you gain from your GoodGym volunteering session?, … and what does motivate you to stay fit more than doing traditional exercise?

Stefania:

"As an Area Activator of GoodGym Brighton Community, I am enthused by the charity mission of creating happier, healthier and better connected communities by getting Brighton & Hove moving. Personally, I have been active in sports for as long as I can remember. Sports have been always a source of inspiration in my life, taken me through the good and the challenging times, allowed me to meet people, develop friendships and transferable skills.

I am a strong believer of the significant role that both physical activities and volunteering can play in everybody’s confidence development, and I feel empowered to share my values and develop empathy, not only for local community causes but the wider sport for development agenda. In my role, I most enjoy empowering my passions in other enthusiastic GoodGym-ers for a circular good while keep being active sustainably.

Brighton GoodGym-ers keep surprising all our beneficiaries (and me) with our unconditional good heart, always prepared to do everything – and get our hands dirty! Keep moving together fuels our goodwill and fulfils us with incredible satisfaction. Burning calories (or stress 😉) while moving, just help – that’s for sure!"

Research has shown that participating in GoodGym has a positive effect on both GoodGymers and organisations that we support each week with our GoodGym group runs and community missions. GoodGym increases wellbeing and reduces mental distress, and older people who GoodGym supports are less lonely and happier.

Yesterday, we run a relatively short distance from our meeting point in Brighton, in Victoria Gardens, led by our star Rosie, who is not only a keen ambassador of GoodGym but also a GoodGym Fitness Run leader, like Pippa and Michael who are all contributing to make GoodGym thrive in Brighton Area with the help of a wonderful Task Force.

Thanks Real Junk Food Project for hosting us! We most enjoy coming to yours. Good luck with the BRAVO Awards! It’s already a success to be nominated for five awards, including sustainability - prioritising the planet and people as much as profit. Bravo! Voting in ON from 4th February!

WHAT's ON NEXT at GoodGym Brighton?
Plenty to amuse you to join us soon.

EVERYBODY is welcome!

A grand welcome was given to new members Sarah and Stefan at yesterday GoodGym’s session at the Fitzherbert hub helping the Real Junk Food Project.

A running stroll on the seafront and high knees step ups the stairs enriched our fitness session on route to the venue. And once there, … surprise! We found some construction work-in-progress but, regardless, the unstoppable Brighton GoodGymers managed to clean safely all the exposed surfaces, swept and mopped all the floors in a blink of an eye, by equipping themselves with helmets – not these ones not 😊, but yes indeed with all the available brooms, brushes, dust pans, backets and mops!

We also extended the job to the neighbouring Brighton Table Tennis Club to make our cleaning session more fulfilling. It was a grand group, so with no surprise we finished off everything very quickly to get ready for the follow up entertainment: The Quiz night at the Kempt pub.

As part of Brighton & Hove TAKEPART Festival of Active Living, Brighton Goodgymmers participated in a group session organised jointly by our friends from Brighton Table Tennis Club, Real Junk Food Project and the Catholic Parish of East Brighton at the Fitzherbert Community Hub.

Thirteen of the best Brighton Goodgym gang showed up and we welcomed not one, not two but three first time participants: Majed, Nick and Irene.

The session also falls on Refugee Week a festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Brighton Table Tennis Club (BTTC) has become a Club of Sanctuary, welcoming refugees and asylum seekers since 2016 and Brighton Goodgym has always had members very passionate about supporting people from all backgrounds and participating in events and walks welcoming refugees and others to our lovely city.

Personally speaking as a third generation refugee; someone who was born with a piece of paper instead of a passport as a form of identity I think sometimes we tend to forget what the word Refugee means. Refugee is defined as a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. But the definition tends to forget the human tragedy that comes with the fact that a human is called 'Refugee'.

Being a refugee means that somehow you no longer have a home but at the same time everywhere is home!

You are welcomed by many but the voices of those who dont want you are louder.

Governments don't know what to do with you, it feels like wherever you go you carry with you oversized luggage that exceeds the 'allowed' limit.

If you are having too much fun in your new 'home' you feel guilty because of those who couldn't have the same opportunity, if you end up closing up on yourself to heal your wounds then you are labelled as anti-social and failing to integrate in the society.

You do your best to learn the language of your new home but when you do you realise that you missed out on a history of social references that you have no idea about. Like what is Eurovision? Who is Kate Bush? What is Rhubarb? and dont get me started on sayings and expressions, when I first heard 'The Writing on the Wall' I was looking around to see who and where they scribbled on the wall!

But then when you take a moment and look around you and see your fellow Goodgym people in their red Goodgym tshirts playing table tennis, laughing and feeling jolly after they have completed the voluntary session of sweeping, cleaning and weeding...you realise...that you are home...Brighton is home :)

Today I received a magazine about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Being an overthinker, I couldn't stop thinking about one question: Can AI take over my job in the future?

Making my way to the Goodgym task I started feeling the anxiety building up, thinking how can I cope in an ever-changing world. As soon as I reached the Goodgym meeting point and was welcomed with friendly faces, my worries were suddenly on pause.

Thirteen Goodgymers braved the cold today and made their way to The Fitzherbert Community Hub that has recently opened its doors and we met Katherine, the newly appointed manager, who explained to us about this multi-partners endeavor and what help was needed by Real Junk Food Project in their venue for tonight. We all started sweeping, mopping, cleaning tables, arranging cups and there's always a few that did more chatting than cleaning!! (not naming names but do check the photos for evidence!).

We were done quickly with today's task and Angela had the great idea of having pancakes since its Pancake Tuesday! So we made our way to Munchie's Craft in the Laines where the owner was kind enough to keep the cafe open till late and served us delicious pancakes ! We took over the whole cafe and ordered sweet and savoury pancakes and some waffles by mistake! Some opted for fancy cocktails for the gram.

It was a fun social and as we said our goodbyes, I went back home with one thought in mind; AI can and will probably take over my job in the future, but it will never be able to take over the sense of joy and contentment of completing another Goodgym task :)

I asked ChatGPT (An AI platform that is taking the world by storm) to write a rap song about Goodgym and here is what it came up with! I let you be the judge of who raps better wink wink

It's Pancake Tuesday and the crew's all here,

Brighton GoodGym in the house, let's make it clear,

Lace up our sneakers, we're on the move,

Gonna help the community with a groove.

We sprint down the road, with a purpose in mind,

Helping the elderly, leaving no one behind,

We shovel snow and rake the leaves,

Making the neighborhood shine before we leave.

We finish the job, time to celebrate,

But we're not done yet, it's time to create,

A stack of pancakes, fluffy and sweet,

To enjoy with friends, while we kick up our feet.

We sit down to eat, with smiles all around,

Good food, good company, in a great town,

Brighton GoodGym, Pancake Tuesday,

A day to remember, in every single way.

Brighton GoodGym, we're the ones to beat,

Pancake Tuesday, let's get to the street,

We'll run and help, no task too tough,

We'll get it done and never enough.

Well, well, ... really well astonished we were to find out how shining still was the upper floor that we cleaned two weeks ago. Well, well, ... really well done Good Gymers! Easy job done, then!? Ehm, what about those hidden corners, skirting, stair wells, toilets, and windows, and cabinets, and...
Heigh-ho!! There is always something more we can do to help the Real Junk Food Project in the Gardener community Cafe' so centrally located in the heart of the Brighton North Lanes. So, more we did!! A fantastic group action of 11 Good Gymers with the (user-) friendly support of "Henry" (The Hoover) turned this cafe' in a never-ever-been- so-clean one.... almost :-) Congrats Liam getting his first good deed with Good Gym Brighton! And, welcome backJack and Will who relocated from London already thinking how to join Good Gym coached runs to visit an older person in Brighton.

Sadly, visiting Jcand Geraldine have announced that their “life in Brighton” is ending soon, but there is a promise of “Au revoir’ cake at our next Tuesday session:
Sign-up now to reverse a bite ;-) https://www.goodgym.org/happenings/moonlight-litter-picking-in-brunswick

On Tuesday a bumper group of 14 runners braved the cold weather to help the Real Junk Food Project in their community cafe. Meeting at our usual spot we made the thankfully short run up to the cafe. At the cafe we met Doug who was attending his first Goodgym session! It was great to see such a big group and new faces despite the plummeting temperatures!

We were all grateful to get inside out of the cold and get started on the cleaning duties. We split up all the tasks across both floors which included hoovering, wiping, moping, sweeping, tidying and just about any cleaning job you can imagine! With so many of us we made light work of all the jobs and had plenty of time to have a catch up in amongst the cleaning. Alongside Doug we've had a new few new faces so it was nice to get to know everyone.

Afterwards a few of headed back to the start but most of us ran off into the night and back home to get warm! Hopefully next week will be a bit warmer so please sign up here: https://www.goodgym.org/v3/sessions/school-superstars