Play2Give celebrates smashing its most successful fundraising year ever for local charities!
2015 was the year that was that saw Oxfordshire fundraising organisation Play2Give raise its most ever amount of funds in history with a record £13,532.05 raised over the course of the year!
The group toasted to its success at the Oxford Children’s Hospital on the evening of January 13th when the team presented hospital representatives with a grand cheque for the amount contributed to the hospital – which broke the previous year’s record – totalling a whopping £9,439.75 scored last year! The group was joined by Barry Bear along with sponsors Newbury Building Society, Breckon & Breckon and Oxford City Football Club. The fundraising champs are now just £3,969 away from achieving their landmark £40,000 goal to name Play2Give’s very own room on the Melanie’s Ward of the hospital.
In 2014 the fundraising group, founded by Didcot’s Andrew Baker, 27, in 2007, broke records with £9,838 raised – however through an ever growing range of supporters and innovative methods and variety of events last year, the £13,532 was the most ever raised in its 8-year history!
2015 saw a wide range of activities and events take place including many through a year’s partnership with Sainsbury’s Didcot. From bag packing and flower wrapping in the store, to fun runs, monster race, fundraising parties, our annual kids football tournament to superheroes spinathon and support from the Oxfordshire Sports Awards, all this and much more resulted in the incredible record £13,532 achieved!
Headway Oxfordshire and the John Radcliffe Hospital’s Paediatric Eye Fund both also benefited from the endeavours, with £1,765.79 and £2,389.01 donated to each. Over the past 8 years, a grand total of £45,559.43 has been given out to charities by the fundraising organisation, all run by a passionate team of volunteers – including Andrew himself, Dale Harris, Teresa Strike and Elaine Childs.
Andrew was inspired to raise money for charity in 2003 after being treated throughout childhood, including major brain surgery aged 12, in 2001. He began fundraising for the Oxford Children’s Hospital aged 14 in 2003 with St Birinus School in Didcot. In 2007, he set up Play2Give, and the group which won Best Fundraising Award at the Business & Community Awards in November, now raises money each year for CHOX, as well as the Paediatric Eye Fund and Headway Oxfordshire. Andrew benefits from weekly rehabilitation and support from Headway due to the brain injury he sustained at birth. Dale Harris’s daughter, Mya, now 13, has been treated by children’s doctors in Oxford since she was born with Spina Bifida.
The kids football tournament is Play2Give’s biggest main event held each summer, and last year a total of £5,732 was netted in for the children’s hospital from the event last July.
Play2Give is already assembling its biggest ever team to take on the Monster Race in April and a team in the Oxford Fun Run in May. Its first event of this year will be a fundraising disco with man v food challenge on April 8th at Didcot Town Football Club which will raise funds for Headway Oxfordshire.
Oxford Mail: Funding team with a £50k goal in sight for children’s
It’s a record £9,000 Salute! Oxford Children’s Hospital receives £9,439.75 – Play2Give’s biggest ever total raised for the hospital.