Helping with essentials as part of a run
Good Gym believe that gyms are a waste of energy. Instead of putting effort into lifting weights and pounding treadmills, they organise people to combine exercise with good deeds that help people in need.
During Group Runs, teams stop off mid-run to help with community projects which need physical assistance.
Coach Runs involve running regularly to isolated older people to pay a visit, and Mission Runs are based around opportunities to help older people with one-off tasks.
Combining staying fit with doing good, operations are now being run across Barnet, Brent, Islington, Camden, Lambeth, Westminster and Newham and Tower Hamlets.
Over 200,000 good deeds have been done since Good Gym was set up, from painting the corridor of a voluntary theatre, to clearing a canal towpath, to moving heavy items from the top floor of a church.
But these are the kinds of group activities that have been most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
“It feels great to be able to help in some small way” Tracy, Good Gym member
Recently Good Gym have focused on smaller tasks that can be done whilst maintaining social distancing: helping at food banks, or collecting shopping or prescriptions for people who are self-isolating.
Still running walking or cycling to get there, Good Gym members are continuing to get their exercise in, whilst helping with the essentials which vulnerable people need more than ever.
