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!

YMCA Stanley Court offers a safe environment and supported housing to people in need, helping them to get ready to moving for greater independence to achieve their true potential and overcome difficulties they might have experienced. Everyone living at Stanley Court can benefit from a range of opportunities to learn new skills, including volunteering and active participation in the gardening group.

Today GoodGym call was to help YMCA to revive the gardening group by preparing a green area to get suitable for future seeding, planting of flowers and growing of vegetables.

We were expected – as advertised on a poster to the residents!

Within 45 minutes we had peeled off the bindweed, chopped back the shrubs, weeded the overgrown patio entirely. We filled 15+ green bags with weeds and left the area looking much tidier, ready for future revamping!

The YMCA gardening group is open to all. You can come in for a taster session or attend regularly and learn a new skill while enjoying the fresh air. So, we did and finished off our group session with fitness exercises in the Saunder park nearby. GoodGym-er Rosie, lead the group back shining her 50 deeds' GoodGym T-shirt!

Six Good Gym runners helped local volunteers with setting up and running Spring in the Patch community festival. It was luckily mainly a dry April day for set-up until about half way through the event when it started raining unfortunately. Juliet (who is also a Patch volunteer committee member) ran the community mission. Sarah and Pippa helped with set-up which involved putting up tents, carrying boxes from the container, setting up the bar and tea tent. Sarah came back for another volunteer shift later collecting donations on the gate, the innovation of being able to now take card donations has really helped. Nikki and Michael joined later too for different shifts, both on the tea tent serving tea, coffee, cold drinks and a range of home-made delicious cakes. The event attracted about 300 people and had four bands, bar, tea tent, a range of stalls including craft, hair braiding, face painting, Green party, Labour party and activities such as yoga and archery. We event had a potential MP volunteering on the bar! It was a very successful event, despite the rain and the Good Gym volunteers made a big difference.