Monday 3rd February 2020
Report written by Anji Andrews (she/her)
You know that thing where you are so worried about losing something that you put it in a really, really safe place..
then you lose it
THAT.
So tonight we were all fired up and ready to do our first leaflet drop of 2020 for Guide Dogs NE Newcastle, and brilliant Louise had even taken some time out of her Sunday schedule to drop leaflets off for us at our base so that we were super organised. Until.. we couldn't find the leaflets! We are sure they are in a very very safe place ready for us to do this particular leaflet drop in a few weeks' time instead.
Darren to the rescue!
Thankfully Darren works super-close by for another fantastic North East Charity, and he was able to find us a batch of leaflets ready to go so we had a replacement task sorted in less than 5 minutes. Hooray! So quick change of plans, tonight we were spreading the word of Moving on Tyne and Wear. This amazing organisation supports people in Tyne and Wear who are aged 18+ and out of work due to physical and/or mental health issues. They also help people to address other barriers, such as long-term unemployment, debt, low skills, or housing issues, through one-to-one support. And all on our doorstep. MOTW is a real hidden gem changing lives in our city and we were so happy to get this bonus opportunity to spread the word.
We stayed indoors for intro tonight, catching up on the windy and wet Community Missions that happened at the weekend, getting February off to a flying start and continuing the momentum we started in January for 2020. There was a great turnout and some good things achieved as always. It was amazing to see some regulars, some occasionals and some newbies getting stuck in for the three great things that happened on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday- some of them doing all three!
Katy got everyone moving for a brilliant warm up- thankfully it had stopped raining by now- and giving us the shortest GG appearance ever, I then promptly sent her home as she is fighting a cold. She later popped up on our Facebook page with a bunch of brilliant bookings she's made for Community Missions coming up because she just can't help herself- Mondays ARE GOODGYM DAYS! We then went off running and walking to Jesmond to get dropping!
The 150 leaflets (Rachael's maths helping us with this calculation) were delivered in super speedy time to 4 key areas around Jesmond, with runners and walkers covering up to 6K in total from this task- the perfect way to keep warm! We only have one photo from tonight but I think you'd agree it's a cracker.
Quick tasks mean longer fitness sessions so we smashed out some minute/quick change lower body exercises, then into The Points Collector, running in pairs on flat/fast and hill sections of Exhibition Park to collect points. There was top energy from everyone tonight with brilliant team work and elbow bashing (if you know, you know).
Planning ahead? Check out the listings for the upcoming Community Missions starting with a Valentines Day special next week led by Maddy. Get involved if you can!
We are back next week running and walking to support student volunteer week at Newcastle University which will, as always be fabulous. It's a fantastic run for people who are new to GoodGym and wondering what we are all about, so bring a friend if you can.
Hope to see you there! Anji x
Helping people who are unemployed due to physical and mental health issues to get closer to work
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