What a fantastic turn out for the mission at Woking Foodbank as 13 GoodGymers turned up to do a deep clean. The Foodbank is one of our regular and most popular missions where we usually clean the floors and wipe the surfaces. But Kirsty had the great idea to do a deep clean of all the shelves and fridge etc. Because there were so many of us it didn't take too long and we ended the evening with the traditional photo on the staircase. A massive cheer to Rob and Stephanie for their second mission with Woking GoodGym and to Julie for reaching 50 good deeds. We can't wait to see you in the black t-shirt Julie. Also a massive well done to Luan who ran non-stop from the Foodbank back to the meeting point at the leisure centre after a break in running. You are officially a runner now Luan.

Sean Coxhead Inspiring Individual Award 2024 Trophy Presenation 🏆

This evening Woking GG celebrated all that is good and wonderful about our Anne 😇

Woking GG had reserved a VIP section at the Sovereign's and it was great to see such a good turn out. All our fantastic crew Adam, James, Wayne, Katie, Alys, Agathe, Maya, Rebecca, Kirsty, Lauren, Julie, Nadia, Luan, Caterina, & Sally Anne who was back in town for a few weeks as she was on uni break (Was great to see Sally Anne) and a lovely surprise for Anne 😄 it was also great to see Phil who joined us to celebrate Anne.

Anne has been with Woking GG from the very beginning she was there at the launch night back in 2016. She has seen many faces come and go but Anne has remained that constant face encouraging, supporting showing kindness to all that have joined. Her dedication and commitment has been amazing and it shows with over 300 good deeds and still going strong ❤️

Anne has taken on the roles as task force and now run leader, and continues to help others with organizing hill training sessions as well as tasks within the community.

Woking GG are very lucky to have her, Anne in her speech tonight dedicated her award to all her goodgym crew who she said also deserved the award but in our eyes Anne is a worthy winner of this amazing award as she also has all the attributes that amazing Sean had ❤️

All Aboard Club 🚂

This mornings task at the All Aboard Club there was a major milestone. It was Nadia 50th good deed 🎉. Nadia joined Woking GG In April 2024 & over the last 10 months has got to her 50th total in double quick time. During this time Nadia has sometimes done 3 good deeds in a day, 😲 Amazing stuff and also in that period Nadia running has improved so much and long may it continue 🏃🏼‍♀️. Hopefully on the next task Nadia will be showing off her new black GG shirt 😀. We will also try to arrange a social get together to celebrate.

Wayne & Nadia came straight from volunteering at junior park run and were met by Lauren. There were also a few new faces from another charity to help us build the giant train track for the kids to enjoy 😀.

Once again we were welcomed by Richard our expert train track builder 🚂💨.

First task was to get 30 chairs and place them around the hall for the parents to sit on, once this was done we all picked a corner and started to build. It was great catching up with Lauren who has recently got into hiking and was telling us about her latest walk in the mountains in South Wales 🗻 and her up coming expeditions in the lake district, hopefully eventually doing all of UK's highest peaks 🥾

This mornings train track when completed looked amazing full of twists and turns and plenty of ups and downs the kids were really going to enjoy it. 😀

A great morning of volunteering, hope you all have a great rest of the weekend and see you all soon. 💫

Lauren and Nadia met today at Brookwood memorial halls to help the All Aboard Club set up their monthly train play session for children with SEN. It's always a pleasure to join this task but today was extra special as we were celebrating Lauren's 50th good deed with GoodGym! A big well done from all of us at GG Woking! You're doing great things! 5️⃣0️⃣🥳🎉 Now we will start to see Lauren in her black t shirt 🖤🙌🏼 There were fewer helpers today but we still managed a looping, winding, bendy train track for the children to enjoy and had a good chat in the process.Some early arrivals even helped put the last few tracks in 🚂 GG Woking had some big plans this weekend but sadly they were stopped by Storm Darragh! Anyway this group of chums from Woking will see each other again soon! GG Woking ❤️

Wayne organised a fantastic venue for GoodGym Woking's Christmas Party 2024: The Sky Bar on the 22nd floor of The Hilton Hotel in Woking. Everyone was looking forward to celebrating 12 months of friendship, fitness, and, most of all, remembering the collective efforts of GoodGym Woking, which have contributed to improving the lives of others in Woking. Unfortunately, Wayne's Euromillions ticket entry was fruitless, but the evening was successful!

Adam, Alys, Anne, Rebecca, Caterina, Julie, Kirsty, Lauren, Nadia & Wayne were settled in their reserved seating area and were thrilled and surprised when Agathe arrived to join the party. As a recent GG joiner, Agathe shared how much she has appreciated the warmth and friendship offered by everyone since the first time she attended GoodGym. We are pleased you chose to join us, Agathe! Kirsty shared that by joining a community whose purpose is to altruistically help others, she discovered an unintended benefit, 'helper's high' or, to phrase it more scientifically, discovering that completing acts of altruism releases endorphins and boosts oxytocin and dopamine levels.

The first cocktails arrived, and everyone was very interested in observing the chosen concoctions. Each glass was greeted with choruses of enthusiastic 'ohs and ahs'. Nadia wandered over to one of the huge windows before deciding quickly if it was 'a bit too high'! Alys made everyone laugh with her irrepressible sense of fun and gift for storytelling, while Lauren wanted to know if Wayne would consider stopping at McDonald's on the way home. Like Anne and Alys, Rebecca wore her red tutu to keep the event on brand, which is fitting for a GG Trustee! Adam and Wayne seemed too attached to their woolly hats, wearing them throughout the evening. Other revellers were impressed by their efforts. Caterina enjoyed meeting the GG stalwarts properly for the first time and having time for a good natter; she was rather concerned about whether those with early starts in the morning would manage to get up for work. Welcome to GG Woking, Caterina!

Soon, it was time to go home, and thanks to the designated driver, Wayne, those who were too far from home were driven there by Wayne. And yes, he did stop at McDonald's on the way!

What's ahead for Good Gym Woking between now and the end of 2024? The group's 'Run up to Christmas' distance challenge continues raising money for mental health charities until Christmas Day. Five members are participating in Battersea's Park Run this Saturday. There are volunteering opportunities each Sunday in December at Woking's Junior Park Run, where we help children enjoy running. Also, this Sunday, we will support the All Aboard Club by creating an inclusive play setting for children with additional needs. Later in the month, there will be a GG promotion event and a gardening task at a local church. We will support the Woking Rotary Club's Christmas collections on several dates. A litter-picking session is also scheduled. A 10 km trail run at Polesdon Lacey for some training benefits and also leaflet dropping.