It’s not very often you get a special invite to rub shoulders with royalty at Buckingham Palace and on your birthday. But for an inspirational Oxfordshire fundraiser who has dedicated half of his life to helping others that is just the lucky ticket!
Founder of Play2Give, Andrew Baker from Didcot, is one of the lucky thousands across the country selected to ‘bag’ a very special date at the palace – and on the day of his 30th birthday, in recognition of his tireless and unrelentless charity work.
The former St Birinus School pupil, dubbed ‘Mr Play2Give’, has thrown himself into fundraising over the past 16 years. Inspired to help others after receiving treatment from birth for a multitude of health problems notably from the brain injury he was born with, Andy is now just £9,000 away from reaching £100,000 – which he hopes to achieve by the end of this year.
The 29-year-old began his fundraising mission aged 14 in 2003 to repay the Oxford medical teams who saved his life at birth, and again aged 12. He set up his hugely successful fundraising organisation, Play2Give, in 2007 to continue the fundraising efforts he first embarked upon at St Birinus School. Over that time he has helped raise funds for Oxford Children’s Hospital, brain injury charity, Headway Oxfordshire, Footsteps in Dorchester and other county-based causes. He has organised a wide range of events including football tournaments, balls, charity nights, fun days, skydives, walks, Christmas toy drives, supermarket collections and much more to ‘net’ in funds.
The ‘team effort’ in Andy’s fundraising has earnt him high-profile recognition along the way scooping a prestigious British Citizen Award at Westminster in July 2017 in the same year which saw ‘The Play2Give Room’ – a treatment room for teenage patients in the children’s hospital, formally open. The fundraising organisation saw its most successful year last year, raising a record £20,000 in its tenth anniversary.
Andy, who fought for life in the special care baby unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital after being born with a brain injury and subsequently underwent brain surgery aged 12 following a further traumatic head injury, has been given the ‘best birthday present’ of them all, by being selected to attend one of Her Majesty The Queen’s garden parties, on June 5th.
He was nominated for the honour by Mayor of Didcot, Jackie Billington, in a special process that involved the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire – The Queen’s representative. The prestigious Royal garden party, one of three held at Buckingham Palace this summer, on June 5th recognises and rewards of thousands of community heroes from all walks of life for their outstanding contributions in their communities.
Andy, of Great Western Drive, will be attending his special Royal date with his biggest supporter of them all – his mother Ann, and says being at the occasion will be a tribute to the countless thousands of people who have helped get behind, involved and supported his fundraising efforts over the past sixteen years.