Happy Birthday to our much valued NHS!
Today the NHS is 73 years old.
We pay a special thank you to our national institution, and for everything our healthcare heroes have done over the past 73 years, and even more so during the fight against Coronavirus when they have worked harder than ever in testing times known than ever before.
Supporting our local NHS has been at the heart of our fundraising organisation since we was born in 2007, and in particular the Oxford Children’s Hospital which has been our key charity since our inception.
The Oxford Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, Sobell House and SSNAP are just amongst some of the local healthcare related causes that we have helped and supported enormously in our 14 years.
All these causes are close to the heart of our Founder Andy Baker. Andy wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the paediatric teams, so for Andy fundraising to give back for his “gift of life” twice over – once upon birth and again at aged 12 – has been his inspiration to give back personally since the age of 14 to our wonderful NHS since 2003.
Andy has not only fundraised to give back but has also been a OUH Volunteer since 2014, working across radiology, Robin’s Ward in Chox and more recently in the JR West Wing as a Covid champion volunteer.
As a result as a groups, we haven’t half given back in spades to our local NHS, through tirelessly fundraising over the years raising incredible amounts of money, to make real differences to the lives of NHS staff locally at our hospitals and patients as only fundraising pays for the added extras and comforts that help make the hospital environments and stays even brighter.
We have also helped spread cheer joy and smiles to poorly children in hospital and their families through all new toys games and more raised as part of our annual festive “Sleigh2Give” campaign, which was created in 2015 initially as an one off Christmas toy appeal with Sainsbury’s Didcot, but since has provided thousands of gifts to children’s wards, neonatal care family rooms, siblings of poorly children, the family accommodation at the JR and funds to support the purchase of toys arts and crafts and games all year round for the children’s hospital areas.
For example the Children’s Hospital that stands today on the JR site wouldn’t even exist had nearly £15million raised by the community not been achieved to build the very first specialist paediatric unit, which opened in January 2007.
We at Play2Give and Andy Baker have played an important role in the original campaign to build the hospital funding exercise, and along the way we have also made significant and long lasting impacts to be felt for generations.
In 2017, our very own funded patient room was unveiled within the Children’s Hospital. After many years of tirelessly working a £40,000 goal The Play2Give Room was achieved and since being formally opened in 2017 on Melanie’s Ward treats teenage patients facing long term hospital stays.
This is just one example of how our dedicated fundraising over so many years has benefited our local NHS for the benefit of young patients and their families but we have done besides so much its hard to put it all into words, but examples include:
- £6,000 – cutting edge bedside monitors for every child’s bed within the children’s hospital, critical care and other children’s areas across the hospitals. Raised as part of our 10th year in 2017.
- The Play2Give Room, a single patient room for adolescent patients, at £40k on the teenage ward unveiled in 2017.
- £564 – 150 thermo cooling mugs to enable parents to stay with their children on the wards while still enjoying a hot drink as respite. 2019.
- £900 in 2007 raised from our first football tournament went to Heads Up, a fund at the JR funding research into head and neck cancer treatments in Oxford.
- Over £10,000 across 3 years – sponsored a family room (2021) in Play2Give’s name within the new Ronald McDonald House Oxford. Enabling families to stay closer to their sick children within a new 62-bed purpose built accommodation wing.
- Fundraising partnership with Sainsbury’s Didcot in 2016 raised £655 to provide two brand new PS4s with games for the teenage ward at the Children’s Hospital
- £3,343 raised for the Oxford Paediatric Eye Fund across two years helped fund imaging equipment inc a “RETCAM” used to photograph the retina of infants with a range of eye disorders including cancer of the retina.
- Throughout 2020 funds raised for Oxford Hospitals Charity of £356.40 funded their Covid-19 appeal including funding disposable art supplies for the children’s hospital, hot meals for ED staff, care packages and cutting edge communications technology for vulnerable patients.
Some of our other ways we have helped….
- Funding State of the art equipment for children’s critical care
- Funding fun & engaging artwork for outpatients
- Funded a Pioneering video link for parents with babies in newborn intensive care
Over £600 so far to support the incredible palliative care provided by Sobell House on the Churchill Hospital site for people with life limiting terminal illnesses. Sobell House is another cause close to our organisation as a dedicated supporter Angela Norris passed away last November from terminal stage 4 lung cancer and was so wonderfully cared for at home by Sobell’s community palliative care nurses.
£100 – Oxford Cancer Centre Care Fund. Raised via a virtual football card fundraiser, 2020.
Over £1,248 supported the neonatal care areas within the JR Hospital raised for SSNAP (Support for the Sick Newborn and their Parents). Andy was a SCBU baby at birth.
And so much more!
Wow, so much achieved and provided to our NHS locally so from everyone at P2G a big thank you to you our community supporters, sponsors and donors, for getting behind our incredible work so that we can help our healthcare heroes in the NHS, as without your help and support and donations we couldn’t of given so much of the above and more.
On this day the 73rd birthday of the NHS, a very big thank you and a very Happy Birthday to our NHS, we will continue to do all we can through fundraising to support our local NHS care services in Oxford.
Long live the NHS so a very big Happy 73rd Birthday NHS!
