On a wet, windy Wednesday, two gallant GoodGym gals, Pauline and Kira, ran 2 miles, braving the wintry weather (yes, we know it's mid-June, but someone needs to tell the weather that) to help out at the Kensington branch of Barnardo's.

//Shout-out to Kira, who was attending her first GoodGym run and also inspired the pun!.//

Running from opposite ends of Liverpool, this mother-daughter combo met in the middle and tag-teamed their way through several bags of donations during their two-hour stint.

Managers Michael and Mandy explained that there is never enough space, time...or hands...to sort out the stock, label it, put it on hangars and display it all in the shop. We were really surprised at the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to get the shop looking ship-shape and the goods displayed to attract customers.

So, after a few instructions about how to sort the bags of clothing, and a quick demonstration on how to use the tag gun, we were left to get on with the task in hand...ladies' blouses, men's t-shirts and LOTS of really cute baby clothes were among the many items that were checked, sorted, tagged and hung on a rail, ready to go into the shop.

We managed to set up quite an effective production line, but realised very quickly what an involved process it all was. We take our hats off to all of the staff and volunteers working in this way...you have our admiration.

**Last Saturday, Mandy opened the shop at 9am, as usual. By 9:15 am, she had taken in 30 bags of donated goods...and by the end of the day that number had risen to 50! As Michael said, they do not like to turn away donations, but what they really need at the moment is more, regular volunteers.

As we prepared to leave, Michael again put out an appeal for any willing volunteers, who may have an hour or two a week, to call in and pick up a volunteer application form. You don't need to wait for a GoodGym Community Mission...if you have the time, and want to help, drop in and introduce yourself. Happy volunteering.