Simon and Helen went along to the Night Shelter to help out at one of our favourite locations. There’s always plenty of interesting tasks to be done here.

We met with Dawn and started off sorting some of the food donations. They certainly weren’t short of tins of beans! The array of items was amazing - from toiletries, dog food and Easter eggs...to frozen crispy duck.

The best task was saved til last though - cleaning the two kitchen ovens. Luckily they had been pre-sprayed with magic cleaner stuff so it wasn’t long til we grabbed some marigolds and they were quite shiny again.

Dawn told us about how “Foodshare” works, sharing surplus food amongst different agencies around the town. They have to bid for the food at allocated time slots; she nearly missed her Waitrose 13 minute window as she was talking to us! They also ended up with over 20 turkeys on Christmas Eve which they had to find homes/freezers for.

It’s certainly an interesting place and so well organised, helping the homeless and vulnerable.

This week, GoodGym Swindon were Haven-sent to help tidy up the outdoor space for service users.

The Swindon Night Shelter have operated the Haven Day Centre for a few years now and we've seen it really change as we've supported them. From the shell of a school, to an impressive, functioning homeless shelter with great temporary accommodation for over winter, a lovely outdoor space with veg patch, alongside the main day centre building.

We met Ian from the Night Shelter on a familiar Tuesday evening, and were led by TaskForce member Sam. The task? A classic GoodGym muscle builder! Clear a large pile of wood that a diligent guest had chopped down from around the facility, break it down, and transfer into bags for a future tip trip.

To make sure we were socially distanced, we split into two groups. Tracey, Teresa, Adam and Sam got hacking, while Gina and Jason whacked the weeds around the veg patches. Ian and I then flitted between the two groups, helping out as needed.

This was a great chatty task. We caught up while we weeded and hacked. Conversations ranged from how pleased we were to be coming out of lockdown and meeting in careful groups again. We also talked new jobs and changing work patterns alongside when first pub pints or haircuts were planned, all the while trimming down the twigs.

As the evening rolled on without any sitar, the pile dropped down, and the birds flew around to see our handiwork and eye up any beetles.

Check out in the pictures how close one robin got to us to say hello neigh-bird!

We did a great job of heaving and snapping to fill several big bags of weeds and wood, then said our goodbyes to cycle or run our ways home. By the end of the evening, we were successfully halfway down the pile, so we may soon be back to finish things off!

What's coming up soon at GoodGym Swindon? * Next Tuesday 20th, we're tidying up the Woodland Walk at Bridlewood Primary School. * Weekend of 24th/25th April, we're doing a Swindon Virtual parkrun takeover! More details over the WhatsApp group soon * Following Tuesday 27th April, we're litter picking at Lydiard Park - spaces still available if you want to be involved!

We were back at The Haven this evening to help with their Temporary Winter Housing Project. This project is now in it’s third year and offers a select number of Swindon’s rough sleepers an opportunity to enrol on a three-month project which includes safe accommodation as well as a contract of support with the end goal to be tenancy ready. We met Ian (Social Enterprise Manager) who explained that the usual communal sleeping arrangements have had to be changed to separate sleeping quarters to enable the project to go ahead in January. As Ian showed us round, some of us reminisced about our first time at The Haven and having to use our head and body torches as there was no electricity! We’ve seen the space change and be used for different purposes over the last 2 years but it’s fair to say we were astounded to see the space transformed into separate bedrooms, 2 communal areas, staff quarters and toilet facilities.

Having spent Lockdown 2.0 with the builders in, and some of the former residents having painted it, it was our job this evening to give the building a thorough clean through before the floor could be fitted and the furniture built. Tracey got to work hunting for hoovers, and successful she was too! Jason and Kirsty joined the hoover crew, comparing whose pipe was the longest and which had the best suck. Pure filth on tonight’s task, and not just on the windows – my task, to clean them all. Giving me a full house having now cleaned windows in every building at the Haven. Adam and Becky grabbed the two brushes, got down on hands and knees and scrubbed like troopers. With so much action, we hadn’t noticed the dust cloud emerging until the smoke alarms started going off!! The ringing felt like it went on forever but thankfully Ian managed to plug in the code just before we finished.

Satisfied with our efforts and that the smoke detectors were in full working order, we all scattered in case they went off again!

On what seemed like the hottest day ever ☀️ GoodGymers started to chitter chatter on the whatsapp group about the best routes to take and how much, or how little(!) clothing they had to wear 😱

And they were off! Sam running the furthest and trying to duck into every shop doorway for a moments relief of aircon, but instead was teased with every type of takeaway 🍟🍗 Richard setting off from our beloved Oasis, realising he hadn’t run the route in the light or alone, took the wrong exit from the Magic Roundabout and completed an extra loop.. d’oh! 🏃🏼‍♂️

The brief this evening was short and sweet - “see a window, clean it” 🧼Relieved to see that Teresa had turned up in clothes, surprised that Lily wasn’t the last to arrive and Gina with her magical squidgy tool, got to work cleaning and polishing windows until they sparkled in the light 💫 We were rewarded at half time with a selection of choccy bars 🍫thanks to Tracey and her gran! But whilst we snacked, Jason continued to work - what a grafter! All that was left to be done was for Tracey to get stuck kneeling in fruit juice, Gaby to laugh, and Sam to try and photograph it!

It was great to be back at the Haven again, a year after celebrating our 1st birthday there 🎉 It was amazing to see how much it had transformed and that there’s now a vegetable patch and peaceful area for guests where there once was an old shed we had taken down. Ian, Social Enterprise Manager, showed us some of the ways in which they’d been engaging with guests so that they can learn new skills and much needed funds can be raised. This includes turning pallets into garden furniture and planters 🌷 and up-cycling pine furniture. GoodGym wish the Night Shelter the very best as they reopen the Haven Day centre tomorrow! ❤️🖤

After a successful trip to the Hive a couple of weeks a go, tonight we were at Swindon Night Shelters The Hub shop & cafe. As we all started to arrive Ian, the Social Enterprise Manager welcomed us in with Lily arriving fashionably late. Ian explained to us some of the new challenges Swindon Night Shelter had faced, and overcome, during the recent pandemic and the new challenges they face as the restrictions begin to ease and we start to learn what the new normal has in store. With a quick safety briefing which included ‘knees bent, back straight, ra ra ra 👏🏻’, we set off in our pairs.

Pair 1 at the front of the store, Kirsty and Sam had the task of cleaning the large shop windows, the till area and moving the heavy bench which was hand crafted by the service users during the lockdown period. All whilst dancing round the basket of balls, trying not to knock it over ⚽️🎾. Pair 2, Gina and Helen were tasked to clear off all the shelves and give them a thorough clean ready for Megan, the Deputy Manager, to restock. The champagne glasses caught Gina's eye but they were disappointed to only find pawsecco on the shelve 🥂🍾. The final pair and completing our ‘ladies night’ team, Lily and Teresa took on the task of cleaning the kitchen cupboards 🧼 This area is usually used to provide for the cafe area. Unfortunately this is closed at the moment, so there was no cake in sight 🍰

Megan explained that the tasks we completed tonight were jobs she was unable to do whilst the shop is open and would have taken her a lot of time alone. She was most grateful she could restock the shop the following morning with a fresh and clean start. We all headed home with a sense of achievement, shopping bags full of new goodies purchased and some of Lily’s home grown courgettes 🥒 picked just this morning!

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.