One of GoodGym Kingston's more frequent and favourite task venues this evening... back to help at Growbaby.

Growbaby are an amazing charity that provides good quality, new and second-hand, baby clothes and equipment completely free of charge to anyone who needs it regardless of their income, background, or faith.

Tonight we had a few jobs to tick off the list... - Claire & Marcos and Dave got busy sorting out the multiple mattresses and cots that needed to be matched up and labelled. - Luke and Amreet sorted out the huge toy library, neatening up all the board games and disposing of any broken toys and random parts - Anna sorted out some of the clothes donations, pairing shoes and ensuring they were stored in the right age group - Raquel organised the bookcase and made room for the multiple new book donations - Dave checked the sell-by-dates and stacked baby powders and other food items - Rachel kept us all in check!

Safe to say we completed a load of tasks within the hour and left Growbaby in a much more organised state than when we found it!

With the festive season wrapped up, our GoodGym team braved the freezing temperatures for a special mission to help a supported living home return to its usual safe and comfortable environment after the holidays.

After a brisk 3.7km run, we arrived at the home, where we were warmly welcomed and got straight to work. Our mission: clear away all traces of Christmas cheer (until next Christmas of course!).

We divided into task teams and got stuck in. Anna, Emily, Raquel, Claire, Jade, Emma, Maliyana and Hazel took down the window decorations, with Christmas shapes carefully removed, packed away, and saved for next Christmas’ celebrations. Once the windows were decoration-free, we gave them a good clean to let the winter light back in. And Luke gave the window sills a good clean too.

Next up was the Christmas tree, which was carefully taken down, by Jana, Anna and Ken, with all baubles, tinsel, and lights stored away safely, ready for another magical display next time. Outside, Martel, Luke and Ken tackled the outdoor Christmas lights, ensuring they were taken down safely and stored properly.

With everything packed away and the home back to its regular setup, the residents can now continue life safely following the festive period. And what better way to celebrate a job well done than with some well-deserved Haribo sweets all around?

It was hard to go back out into the cold and run back but we were energised by the community spirit aspect to the task. We promised we’d be back in December to put them all back up again!