Play2Give brought some Headway cheer this week when Andrew Baker presented a huge cheque making life just that bit better for brain injured survivors and their carers.
Andrew, who himself is supported by the Headway Oxfordshire charity, handed over a cheque totalising £1,850.10 to Jamie Miller, Chief Executive Officer of the charity during their Christmas party on December 10th – held for service users, carers, staff and volunteers.
The festivities, at Kennington Village Hall, saw an impressive performance from the staff team with their very own hilarious take on the ’12 Days of Christmas’ much to rapturous applaud and cheers from the audience as well as a raffle and other fun and games. Andrew was delighted on behalf of the Play2Give team to present Jamie with the cheque raised from proceeds over the past two years of fundraising.
The group raised the money through a wide range of activities and events, from second hand book sale held by Sainsbury’s Didcot in 2014 to some of the sponsorship Andrew himself raised early on in 2014 through having his head shaved, whilst in 2015 proceeds came through a fundraising party, a Play2Give team of ten in the Monster Race, a trio taking on the Oxford Fun Run in May with Andrew dressed as Batman’s sidekick Robin in a wheelbarrow, £500 – part of the proceeds customers and staff at Sainsbury’s in Didcot raised during their year of support, to a Superheroes Spinathon in September organsised by Didcot’s Willowbrook Leisure Centre and part of the proceeds the Oxfordshire Sports Awards raised in November, 2014, through a raffle amongst guests.
Jamie Miller, on receiving the generous amount, said: “Everyone at Headway Oxfordshire is so impressed with Andrew and his team’s fund raising with Play2Give and we are hugely grateful for the support they are giving us. At a time of such financial pressure on charities, it is particularly important that we receive support from our community to enable us to confirm us providing the essential services that we do to those affected by ABI, like Andrew himself receives through us. Thank you Andrew and all the Play2Give team”
Andrew added: “I am delighted to present this huge cheque to a cause that means so much to me. Headway Oxfordshire do amazing work to support so many living with brain injuries and such as the fact I receive that first-hand like so many others that this inspires me to lend my support to keep Headway’s work going. It’s a cause that means a lot to all of us at Play2Give, as two of the team’s dad has received support from Headway over a year until his funding was sadly stopped after he too had come through treatment years ago. We look forward to raising more in 2016 through more exciting fundraising initiatives and events and hope to continue making headway for such a fantastic cause!”
Play2Give has donated over £45,550 to local charities since it was formed in 2007, and Headway Oxfordshire is one of its key charities, after Andrew, the Play2Give chief, started to receive support from the charity in 2012. It is currently backing a petition set up by Andrew to save Headway Oxfordshire from Oxfordshire county council cuts next year.