What a day that was, as yesterday (20th December) it was the turn of five Oxford healthcare causes to receive thousands of gifts between them, all raised as part of our 10th anniversary Sleigh2Give Christmas Appeal 🎅
Whilst it was a very emotional day, it was such an uplifting day as well, and as ever an awe-inspiring day. It was great to end this year’s milestone Sleigh2Give appeal by finishing with delivering to Oxford Children’s Hospital and other healthcare institutions close to our heart.
It was our biggest toy delivery of the season with a festive and lovely few hours spreading plenty of cheer, joy and smiles to children and families across the hospitals, and respite centres with a day dedicated to Headington gift giving visits.
With Elf Andy and Santa, alongside Lady Claus came a helping hand from both Driving Miss Daisy Didcot – who adopted us as their charity partner in 2021 – with their superb support on the day by providing transportation, and accompanying us on all our rounds. A huge big thank you to Zororo and Billy.
We also give special thanks to ATA Logistics Ltd who also helped us out massively by providing a van to transport just our boxes and boxes of toys to the Children’s Hospital, and who as a company also collected hundreds of gifts and have raised over £750 for our charity with an online giving page too.
With one minibus and one van the elf’s helpers Linda and Dave who oversaw the convoy at BizSpace to load up and bring down all the incredible donations, and even the sunshine appeared throughout, to stay dry until the very important man, Santa, had finished all his very important deliveries.
First, we visited Helen & Douglas House, followed by Linda and Dave delivering to Viking House, which included waterproof bean bags, footballs, bubbles and arts and crafts to bedroom blankets, bath lights, toot toot cars and sensory toys, and even bath lights, Squishmallows, and even a goal post.
After gathering at the JR, we spent our most time at the Children’s Hospital (CHOX) where this year we was escorted to level one outdoor play terrace and with our Santa backdrop, many of the young patients came to greet and receive the joy of a toy, all of which brought immense smiles and cheer, and of course joy, also to the NHS heroes who care for them and it was a very moving experience, but such a special moment of the year especially with Sleigh2Give this year celebrating such a big number milestone. Its incredible to think Sleigh2Give was born in November 2015 originally as just an one-off collection with Sainsbury’s in Didcot to deliver some toys to the wards, and how it has grown and grown, since. Then followed our annual visit to the SSNAP (Support for the Sick Newborn and their Parents) team – the charity team which supports the families and siblings of premature and sick babies in the neonatal care unit, which we was taken round to meet and light up the faces of NHS staff, parents and of course the tiniest of babies. This year we was asked to provide for 24 siblings so we did, providing 24 hampers for 24 siblings which included two twenty-year-old plus.
For the Children’s Hospital, we literally delivered cage loads from colouring books to Lego sets to hot wheels cars to action figures including superheroes, to selection boxes and toiletry sets, to story books and puzzles, fidget toys, wooden trains, games, baby toys and essentials and more, the list goes on.
Every wish list item dreamed of we fulfiled and we got to meet some of the incredibly brave children in hospital, some from Tom’s Ward, Robin’s and from Bellhouse Drayson as well as CDU all to our beautiful Santa backdrop. Even Andy the hospital musician was about and got us into a sing song moment, it was truly a lump in the throat feeling.
We thank our lifetime friends Oxford Hospitals Charity for supporting and facilitating our visit and particularly Jamie and Lynn from the charity hub who helped oversee the visit. We had received many referrals through OHC from some groups, schools and businesses wanting to support Sleigh2Give, so it was a great collaboration.
We also must add our thanks to Jamie and Lynn for both getting into the stride of the occasion by getting dressed as our hilarious Christmas Cracker.
And finally our last visit of the afternoon to the very special Sobell House at the Churchill Hospital. We were greeted by Ariya and Mandy in the charity team who were also overwhelmed by the sheer number of gifts from toiletries, to books to selection boxes to puzzles. We had a tour of the family room which will be refurbished next year, a huge appeal which we was proud to help contribute our funds raised in 2023 towards, and so much so that the story and reading books we’ve provide will help furnish their bookcase in the new revamped room once it’s complete. It was exciting to hear about the plans and transformation, of what is at the moment quite a dull and drab room, into a bright and colourful and expanded space for privacy, relaxation and comfort at the most difficult of times.
Both CHOX and SSNAP are two of our key and long standing supported charities. Andy was a SCBU baby upon birth and spent the first few days fighting for his life in the NCU after being born with his brain injury, and throughout his childhood was treated and cared for by various paediatric teams, latterly the brain surgery aged 12 which inspired it all with his fundraising aged 14.
The Oxford Children’s Hospital we have supported since we was born, fundraising continued from Andy’s earlier school days almost 23 years ago! Andy began fundraising for CHOx whilst it was just a dream, and watched the cranes at work from his hospital bed. In 2003 he raised his first £1,000 aged just 14 to help with the funding of the hospital build, and by 2017 we even had our very own patient room in our name (at £40k!) formally unveiled on the teenage ward, which treats and cares for adolescents facing long term hospital stays.
So, as a former young patient, giving back continually all year round including at this most special time of the year to both hospital units is very close to Andy’s heart, as they like Viking House and Sobell are, to so many of our team.
All in all Friday was another very special and inspiring Sleigh2Give day and it’s true to say after a very busy, packed, long and emotionally draining but positive day, we were all elved out after a ho ho ho’ing great day.
Thank you to everyone who has got behind and contributed in any way to this year’s tenth anniversary gift giving drive. The donations really have and will make a real difference this Christmas sprinkling and spreading cheer joy and smiles and the magic of the season far and wide, this Christmas and beyond. Without our fabulous supporters to our annual toy drive we wouldn’t be able to provide so much special magic and joy to the lives of thousands who receive gift generosity, and what a way to end marking ten incredible years of this very special campaign.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
