Last night Oxford Mutual Aid was a hive of activity!

First we packed:

• 6 Emergency Food Parcels (for 10 adults, plus children) to get some food to people who have run out.
  
• 40 regular parcels (for 54 adults), full of food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and baby stuff.

Next we loaded up 4 cars for motorised delivery routes, and restocked the shelves as much as possible.

Then, the big event....23 GoodGymers, plus GoodGym mascot Peggy the pooch, flexed their biceps and stretched their legs to deliver 32 parcels of essentials on foot and by bicycle.
With more than one delivery per GoodGymer there was quite a bit of to-ing and fro-ing around East Oxford, and even those without a double delivery found themselves loaded up to the gills with carrier bags. Gold stars to all those who brought rucksacks and bike panniers so that they could fit even more on their delivery route, and kudos to Ben and Georgia who managed to transport 6 bags full of goodies all the way to Marston - 1.8 miles by my calculation!

We might be out of the strictest lockdown measures for now, but the demand for food help isn't dropping. In fact tonight we had more emergency deliveries than we've had for a few weeks, and last week emergency requests for food support were at an all time high: 94 emergency food parcels were sent out over the course of the week, alongside all the regular food deliveries. An astonishing feat for a team of volunteers.

Thank you to Ruth for the donation of toiletries and to Lorenzo for the Ramadan goodies.
Welcome Lena - good to meet you!
Welcome back Annabel - lovely to see you for the first time since becoming a Mum. Hope you can make it back again soon.

Tonight we packed 38 parcels of food and hygiene supplies and delivered 25 of them on foot around East Oxford.

Peggy was excited to show off her snazzy new jumper, we peered at each other in actual daylight, and although more than 1 of the bag handles didn't survive beyond the car park fortunately all the cheese, greek yoghurt, corned beef, milk, veggies, bread and pasta made it to the 50 recipients in tact. There may have been a couple of head-scratching moments, but nothing we couldn't sort out, and everything got delivered before it was fully dark - an exciting springtime first!

Thank you to those who answered the call for donations and brought along some hygiene supplies to replenish the bare shelves with shower gel, deodorant and sanitary products, as well as other useful and appreciated items (tin openers, chocolate).

By the last light of the day 31 GoodGymers gathered beside a church on the Cowley Road.
At 5:45pm a watch beeped and -pop! - out of the Richard Benson Hall came a red-clad and very bossy group leader.
She started to look at the food parcel delivery list...

Who's here so far?

At 5:50pm the first food parcels left to be delivered.
But there was still more to do.

At 6pm bike panniers and rucksacks were filled.
But there was still more to do.

At 6:05pm asparagus and ragu were added to the parcels.
But there was still more to do.

At 6:10pm 5 food parcels went out in a flurry of activity.
But there was still more to do.

At 6:15pm the last of the regular food parcels went out of the door.
But there was still more to do!

At 6:30pm Emergency food parcels were loaded up, crates were stacked away, shelves were restocked, cardboard was broken down, meals were put in the fridge, fruit and vegetables were sorted out, buns were emptied, and stock levels reported.......

The team started to feel tired.

So the GoodGymers ate a whole Colin the Caterpillar. And they started to perk up, giving them the energy to run home and recover from their exertions....

.....so that they can do it all over again next Wednesday evening.

39 food parcels were packed and delivered on Wednesday night, which will help 50 adults, plus several children and babies.

Well done Angus on completing your 50th Good Deed!

Check out The Very Hungry Caterpillar here.

First things first, THANK YOU for turning out to make food bank deliveries tonight despite the dreadful weather. I hope you are all warm and dry now.

Secondly, I failed in my duties both as a group leader and a sister by not having cake tonight to celebrate Bethan's 100th Good Deed, which she did since last Wednesday. Double cake for everybody next week to make up for it! Well done also to Ruth and Alistair for getting to the 10 Good Deeds milestone. Warm welcome to Ariane who joined us for her first GG experience.

Tonight your efforts meant that:

40 food parcels were packed
32 food parcels were delivered by GoodGymers (the rest went by car with OMA volunteers)
which helped 56 adults plus several children and babies.

Here's some thanks from one of the recipients: "Thank you so much for that food parcel you made up for me today,.... Perfect!! It shows you care. You're a real life line for me.
Thanks again,
Your friend."

That's worth getting soggy for!

Big thanks to Tamasine for excellent work restocking and clearing up in the hall - the extra help inside was much appreciated.

IT’S OUR BIRTHDAY!!

Far from hitting the terrible twos, tonight we celebrated in true Goodgym Oxford style by helping our local community and eating baked goods. In the last 2 years 2516 good deeds have been done by 238 runners (and walkers and cyclists). An amazing achievement, especially when you consider that half of this time we have been in the grip of a global pandemic!

It was so lovely to start our task in the light – actually seeing (half) of people’s faces was brilliant after what has seemed like a never-ending winter. It won’t be long until we are starting and finishing our evenings in the light – spring is a-springing!!

Oxford Mutual Aid recently featured on ITV news trying to highlight just how important the work that they do is. Demand for emergency food parcels and the general week-to-week deliveries are on the rise, and so the time that we give them is vital and gratefully received. OMA have paired with some wonderful local suppliers and restaurants; The Kitchen Collective, Taste Tibet, and most recently Syrian Sisters, all of whom provide delicious, nutritious meals which go out in the parcels we deliver. This week we delivered 40 regular and 4 emergency parcels. These deliveries helped 59 adults and several children and babies.

A huge thanks to Anwen and Martha for the delicious vegan treats and welcome to Esmee who chose an excellent evening to join us! We hope to see you again soon. A 'dedication to GoodGym' award has to go to Jessy for coming to help tonight despite being on crutches. Following in Aoife's hop-steps there!

And finally, many virtual pats on the back and foot rubs go to Rob who managed to drag himself along tonight despite finishing his amazing challenge of running 7 half marathons in 7 days to raise money for OMA. We think that you are brilliant, potty, but brilliant. Now go and have a nap!

48 parcels packed and delivered tonight; 42 for regular recipients and 6 emergency parcels. That's an all time high for us on a Wednesday evening, but you all took it in your stride and rose to the challenge.

On Random Act of Kindness Day you have made the world a better place for 62 adults plus their children and babies.

Packing parcels, restocking the shelves, unpacking deliveries and donations, dog walks...it was all going on tonight. Thanks for being the best and most helpful team in town!

Well done to Morgan and Georgia for reaching the 10 Good Deeds milestone this week.