£9,500 to establish GoodGym in Woking; a project tackling isolation within the elderly population, encouraging community cohesion and promoting exercise

Described as “One of the world’s most innovative ageing projects”, GoodGym is a community of runners who get fit by doing good; doing physical tasks that benefit their community. The funding will cover the costs of establishing GoodGym Woking – the first in Surrey.

Runners will run to make social visits to isolated older people; and will run missions for these older people; clearing gardens, changing lightbulbs and doing odd-jobs for people who struggle to do them alone.

The Pargiter Trust Fund was particularly excited to be the ‘founder funder’ of Goodgym in Surrey – as the Fund is keen to support innovation. An area of need that GoodGym has particularly focused on is loneliness and isolation amongst older people, with over 1 million people aged 65 and over admitting to always or often feeling lonely, and 17% of those living alone seeing family and friends less than once a week.

Bringing this project to Surrey will advance GoodGym’s aim of getting people all over the world off treadmills and into their communities in addition to tackling isolation. We look forward to seeing GoodGym “up and running” in Woking in the near future!

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