Spotlight: The Good Gym

Be good, get fit. Thats the tag being used by the creators behind a new project bringing together volunteering and exercise. By linking runners and isolated less-mobile people, the Good Gym aims to overcome the loneliness experienced by some older people. Runners will jog to their house, deliver something nice, have have a brief chat and be on their way again.

Like v’s work to define volunteering for a new generation by providing a range of opportunities to fit young peoples lives (we value whatever time they can give), the Good Gym is an interesting example of what they term, the ‘fine-grain’ approach to volunteering, where participation is based on frequent low impact activities that are integrated usefully into the participant’s life.

Over the Summer and Autumn of 2009 the Good Gym will test the working and processes of the project in Tower Hamlets. If you live or work in the area then join the good gym pilot project.

As the people at the Good Gym say, it will help you get fit by provding a good reason to go for a run and it will help the person being visited by providing them with some friendly human contact.

Join the pilot. Get running.