FITNESS
Supplying manpower for community garden projects is one of GoodGym’s popular missions
RUNNING FOR A REASON PROJECT BY: GOODGYM
G 44
oodGym asks: ‘How do we make the act of run- ning more purposeful and socially useful?’ Instead of running around a park, a GoodGym
runner embarks on a mission to do some good in their local community, either alone or as part of a group. Rather than run straight past that nursing home, why not stop and spend time with someone who’s craving com- panionship? Now the act of running is no longer a self-centred act but a gen- erous and compassionate one.
How it started Back in 2008, Ivo Gormley, an enthu- siastic amateur runner, was thinking about how to encourage more peo- ple to volunteer. Volunteering could be made easier if it could be integrated into already busy lives. He realised the physical activity a person did could be channelled into doing social good. It fl ipped the idea of running to serve ourselves into running to serve others.
Making a run more purposeful The simple idea was to connect a per- son’s run with a visit to an elderly member of the community, offering
Time for a cuppa: GoodGymmers aim to help break the monotony of a lonely pensioner’s day
IN A NUTSHELL
Initiative by: GoodGym –
www.goodgym.org Location: UK Status: Ongoing Impact: National Gymtopia keywords: Environment, Health & Wellbeing
companionship as well as bringing them a small gift (£1 or less), such as a newspaper or a treat from the local bakery. The home visit is not long, ranging from 10 minutes to an hour. Duration is not the important meas- ure here – it’s the personal connection that helps break the long periods many elderly members of our commu- nities spend alone and isolated.
Becoming a GoodGym member Runners of all abilities register on the GoodGym website and select from London or Bristol, where the project currently runs. Members need to have a criminal record check due to contact with vulnerable adults and be over 18. Working with the NHS, charities and community centres, GoodGym matches runners to a housebound elderly per- son who’d like a regular visitor. Runners commit to at least one weekly run.
From one to many As GoodGym develops, it includes more projects in the community. GoodGymmers in Bristol have done community gardening and helped homeless shelters, and GoodGymmers in London have helped a hospital to create a new vegetable garden.
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital ISSUE 4 2014 © cybertrek 2014
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