Lifting, Shifting & Sorting for the Swindon Night Shelter Warehouse and as this was an inside mission only 5 runners could participate. We arrived at the agreed nearby meeting point by our various modes of transport: running, cycling or car depending on how far we lived from the mission. The sun was shining and we took in the lovely scenery and wildlife including Mr Rabbit and Mrs Squirrel as we made our way to the warehouse as a team, practicing social distancing, where we were greeted by Becky and Steve. Becky briefed us on how they continue to perform their remarkable tasks during the Covid 19 crisis. She explained that although all homeless people have been housed in hotels, none of the logistical services you normally expect and take for granted exist for these people such as food and laundry. So their team have been busy doing the daily rounds of delivering food parcels and fresh laundry whilst checking on the wellbeing and mental health conditions of these people and collecting the dirty laundry which they are then laundering ready to begin the whole process again.
They are also reconfiguring the Night Shelter to comply with Covid 19 restrictions for when the homeless people eventually return. The task is enormous and its one of those behind the scenes things that nobody ever thinks about which must happen in order to support these people. Our tasks.... Tracey, Helen and I were led by Steve who had just returned to the warehouse after being furloughed, to sort a huge pile of crates containing donated clothing and household goods into organised piles of crates which would then be transported to their charity shop: The Hub which is on Cricklade Road at Stratton Crossroads... They are only open Monday and Thursday at the moment but hope to expand on those hours soon. As we sorted the items we seized the opportunity to model a selection of fashion and the banter came thick and fast. Meanwhile, Jason and our very own ‘Mother’ Teresa took on the less glamorous job of cleaning the reception and bathroom. Mr Mop did a fantastic job of cleaning a very well used and dirty laminate floor in a Flash while poor Mother Teresa had to clean the delightfully disgusting toilet and bathroom with something not much bigger than a toothbrush and a lot of elbow grease. Ian, their Social Enterprise Manager arrived at the warehouse after a busy morning that included meeting with Sam, one of our Task Force members, she talked with Ian about how GoodGym started, what we do and what we can do. He has a list of ideas so hopefully we can return and assist again in the very near future, Although we finished the task in about two hours, it seemed like only minutes; Becky, Steve and Ian thanked us profusely and bid us farewell. While we had a great laugh and a bit of fun helping to clean the place up and sort the donated items we came away with a sense of shocked surprise at how much work is actually involved behind the scenes for this charity. I am immensely proud of leading this one. I had a great team and at least for a few hours, we made a difference.