Congrats to Stefanie for reaching 10 good deeds with GG MCR!!

This evening, we met in Salford to give GRIT Studios a helping hand with their new site. Peter and Ben met by Salford Central train station, currently under refurbishment, to make the ~2.5 km jog to the site, with Stefanie meeting us there by bike.

The GRIT Studios site in Salford has come on leaps and bounds since we were last there scraping paint from the windows. The space is now 85% occupied with artists with the windows decorated with the common room looking much more homely with less rubble and exposed brickwork on show. They are hoping to fill the remaining space this week with more public workshops and events in the next month or so, so keep an eye out! Here's hoping to some planters and maybe even a bench to make it a bit more welcoming too.

We were tasked with cleaning the external tiled walls that stuck out like a sore thumb after the rest of the building had received its makeover. With an array of implements including sponges, scourers, metal scourers, brushes, brooms, plus different types of cleaning pads, we donned marigolds and grabbed some buckets of mildly soapy water to give the walls a good clean.

Some marks and stains were easier to clean than others but bit by bit, we managed to remove quite a lot of muck, dirt, and grit from the tiles and windows. Doing this in full view of people using the treadmills in PureGym was something of an experience, with some passers by showing an interest into what was going on. After several changes of water and stepladders to help reach the high up places, we completed the task and cleared up any last marks before heading home by bike or on foot.

Stefanie and Ben both joined with Ardwick Climate Action 🌳 for their site clearance and litter pick of the green space (not a park) near Dryden Street.

Along with other volunteers Dan, Gordon, Abigail, Gosia, plus a council member and other members of the community (plus Juno of course), we set about to collect as much discarded waste as possible 🚯

Little did we know how big a task that would be... In amongst the hedges and bushes, a whole host of objects were found, including:

• kettle
• bedding
• condom wrappers
• clothing
• pillows
• vapes
• bottles and cans
• mop
• woven basket
• takeaway containers
• laughing gas canisters

Once the site was looking more sightly, we moved onto St Saviours graveyard. Here we collected yet more bottles and clothing, including coats, socks, and a high visibility jacket, plus lots of empty "packets" and a suitcase 💼

At the end, we must have collected 35-40 full refuse sacks of waste and neatly collected it near a council bin to arrange collection, before moving it en mass to a site mote protected from the wind and possible animal life to raid it.

Was great to get involved and a good 2.5 hr workout on a Saturday.

GRIT Studios have been going for 3.5-4 years with bases in Stockport and a studio in Manchester, Deansgate. now they have a space for "Gritters" in Salford. An old natwest bank in Salford shopping centre has been left empty and unused for 6 years(!) so hopefully the space can be put to better use!

Upon arrival, it was clear it would be a big task. With builders in this week to do bits of plastering and filling in holes in the wall and ceiling, the space was safe to use.

Jordan and Stefanie donned their overalls to fill in walls and plaster, including over a disused lift shaft with paint to give a clean slate for incoming artists 🎨🖌. Pavel, Gameel, and Peter helped scrape and clear paint from the windows, clear large items as rubbish🗑, and clear rooms of any bits left from previous incumbents. Ben helped scrape paint, paint over removed wallpaper, and clean windows🪟.

After a couple of hours, we had done what we could with a likely repeated trip back to finish any specific tasks with opening days not too far away.

It was really great to help out and good numbers to get a lot done in a short amount of time. Hope you enjoyed the task and see you soon!

Stefanie, Sam, and Ben braved a chilly Monday evening to run the 2.3 km each way to the foodbank drop-off location at ASDA in Hulme. Inspired by Random Acts of Kindness Day, we dropped off a range of food such as rice pudding, instant noodles, pasta sauce, and peanut butter. All part of the Holiday Hunger donation drive (details below), we hope that the small donation helps those who need it.

Manchester South Central Foodbank have a Holiday Hunger donation drive to help out those children who would normally get free school meals:

"Winter is a tough time for everyone. At our food bank we are currently supporting around 100 clients a week. With the rising price of food and bills, people in our area are struggling to choose between heating and eating. You can support people in your local area by donating to us. Last year we distributed 1033 holiday hunger food parcels to families in crisis. Our Holiday Hunger project provides a lifeline for families during the school holidays, by providing food parcels containing breakfast and lunch items and reading activities."

They also have online pages for donating items:

• an online donation site to donate food online that is delivered to their warehouse
• a monetary donation page too.

Manchester Central Foodbank also have a few locations in Manchester for accepting food donations to provide for those who need it. For other nearby foodbanks/donation points, Trussell Trust have a handy search tool.