Some people’s new year’s resolution may have been a pledge to do more good deeds in 2025; for others, it might have been promising themselves to keep fit. Well, guess what? You can do both.
GoodGym is a registered charity that describes itself as ‘a community of people who get fit by doing good’. Its members run, walk or cycle to locations to lend a hand to community groups by volunteering, or to go and do practical tasks for isolated older people who need help – like weeding their garden or picking up shopping.
The Ealing team started in 2016 with a series of tasks that included painting sheltered housing, moving steelpan drums at a parish church and creating artwork in Hanwell Community Centre. The good deeds haven’t stopped since – especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when they were particularly prominent and part of the Ealing Together alliance formed by the council.
‘A big surprise’
Harvey Gallagher has been a member of Ealing GoodGym for 6 years. He said: “The initial attraction was I wanted to volunteer to help people, and I also wanted to do more to keep fit – even though I did run a bit and cycled to work. And GoodGym combined those things.
“What I found amazing is that I went into volunteering to help others but, actually, I probably got more out of it than them. It was a big surprise to me. I enjoyed it and felt better for having helped, and what I did to help didn’t take too much out of me in the process.
“During the pandemic, we would have chats with people on their doorstep and it was so nice for me, and for them. Sometimes they were isolating for health reasons and were lonely, so it was really lovely to just take 5 or 10 minutes to chat.
“The social element is massive. In a big city like London, you make your life here but it can sometimes be socially isolating, and GoodGym provides a natural network of people where it’s easy to chat and make friends.”
‘We’re very friendly’
“You don’t need to worry about not being fit enough – it’s all about active travel, but there are all kinds of ways to do that. You choose if you walk, cycle or run, or a mixture. We run taster sessions, where we walk and chat and help someone and go for a coffee. And there are local groups and activities in different parts of the borough, so you choose the things you do. We’re very friendly,” said Harvey.
Local ‘goodgymmers’ were very involved in last year’s inaugural Queen of the Suburbs ultra marathon, which is taking place again this month (March).
You can easily join-up, donate – or even request help – by visiting the GoodGym website.
