Room at Oxford Head Injury Services to be named after Play2Give founder and service user
Brain injury warrior, and Play2Give charity founder, Andrew Baker, is to be honoured in a very special way by the brain injury centre that has been supporting and helping him for more than a decade.
Oxford Head Injury Services, formerly Headway, is based in Kennington and provides specialist rehabilitation, support and tailored services to adults and their families living with life-changing effects of brain injuries.
Oxford Head Injury Services, established in 1988, provides a wide range of rehabilitation programmes, including physiotherapy and occupational therapy, all with a holistic approach improving the quality of life for individuals affected by brain injuries. OHIS has supported Andy now for over 13 years, since he was 23, and now he will be honoured with a room named after him.
Andy started out as a volunteer in the fundraising office in 2011, helping with admin and mailing duties, and has attended the group rehabilitation and activity setting twice a week since, and also benefits from specialist physio and physical therapies in the custom-built neurological gym. £7,000 of Play2Give’s funds raised from 2017, its tenth anniversary year, helped to fund six specialist and tailored-made exercise machines.
Play2Give, which has been supporting OHIS for more than ten years, raised more than £6,610 for the specialist brain injury organisation in 2024, and £3,210 is being used to fund the transformation of a dull and drab room within the activity and rehabilitation centre into a room full of relaxation, tranquility and sensory, and will be named ‘Andy’s Room’ in thanks and tribute to Play2Give, and as a personal thank you to Andy and his unwavering dedication.
In late 2024, Play2Give reached a momentous total of £30,000 raised through a decade of football tournaments, gala balls, charity nights, fun days, tombolas, bingo nights and much more that contributed towards the milestone amount.
Play2Give’s funds in the earlier years helped to keep the activity and rehabilitation centre running, at a time when government funding cuts saw the centre at risk of reduced services or closure, helped to fund the redevelopment of the ARC into a modern, chic and purpose building, and the funding towards an accessible for all sensory garden.
Andy’s Room will provide service users a chance to get away when they need a break from the busy and bustle of the group setting, and enjoy peace, tranquility, relaxation and a feeling of sense and comfort, or when they feel slightly unwell with their condition, a chance to chill out and take a wink, to enjoying the moment to take the chance to bust out a wordsearch or an activity like a board game or puzzle or just simply sit back with a cuppa – one of Andy’s favourite relaxation to do – and listen to music, enjoy the soothing sounds of the ocean or be wowed by the projective lights.
Andy’s Room will be funded by Play2Give, and will be unveiled later in the year with a plaque and ribbon cutting ceremony, and will also include tailored wall art and murals along with soft furnishings and furnishings like bookcases and walls painted, in colours chosen by Andy.
The milestone achievement of £30,000 raised over the decade will be officially celebrated at our Oscars-themed Ball, at Milton Hill House, where staff, trustees and volunteers of OHIS will come together and dress up to the nines to mark Andy’s incredible achievement over a fabulous night of fun, dining, dancing and fundraising.
Tickets are available for our glitiziest occasion of the year and can be purchased by contacting us for more details.
