How an appeal to raise a few pounds became a much-loved charity – meet its inspiration, brain injury survivor Andrew Baker

What began as a schoolboy dream to raise a few pounds to thank the medics who had supported him throughout his childhood has become a much-loved fundraising organisation which has generated over £245,000 for good causes. Here, Andrew Baker discusses his pride at being able to help fellow young hospital patients and brain injury survivors through his Play2Give organisation.

Having lived with a brain injury since birth, spending much of his younger years in and out of hospitals for ongoing treatment and undergoing major brain surgery at the age of 12, Andrew Baker decided he wanted to give something back.

“The medical teams were amazing, they were so brilliant, and I decided I just wanted to say thank you. It will be 19 years ago in January when I was in year 10 at St Birinus School in Didcot and thought how nice it would be to raise some money for them as a way to give back,” he recalls.

“I set a target of £500 and the response from my school was brilliant, we first raised £1,000. That was the start of my fundraising journey.”

Since that time, Andrew has gone on to raise over £245,000 for an array of charities, through the creation of Play2Give, which takes its name from what was initially devised to be an one-off fundraising football tournament he organised that has spiralled into a dedicated non-profit organisation.

Among the many beneficiaries of Andrew’s fundraising, Oxford Children’s Hospital and brain injury charity Headway Oxfordshire are causes particularly close to his heart.

And as well as Play2Give, there is also its accompanying festive arm, Sleigh2Give, which donates gifts to children who are spending their Christmas in Oxford Children’s Hospital and other children and families less fortunate – to date, over £120,000 worth of presents have been given out since 2015.

Andrew’s efforts have attracted national praise, with awards including the British Citizen Award Medal of Honour (meaning he has BCAv after his name), last year being one of four finalists in the ITV Meridian region for Fundraiser of the Year as part of the Pride of Britain Awards, and having a Points of Light award bestowed upon him by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in January.

“It’s all quite unbelievable sometimes and it’s crazy how it has grown, but the best thing for me is that I am helping other people, using my motivation and experience of my own adversity to make change,” says Andrew, 32, from Didcot.

“Through this fundraising, we are helping to change, transform and save lives, which is what Play2Give is all about and to see the positive impact on people’s lives is what this is for and that along with my own experience continually drives me on.

“I am helping people like me. It hasn’t been easy for me living life daily with a brain injury and the everyday challenges it brings, but with support you can get through it. I use Headway in Oxford twice a week and spent lots of my childhood in hospital, it was like a second home for so much of my young years so I know how much this kind of help and the all important fundraising is needed.”

His initial fundraising as a 14-year-old boy coincided with the development of the Oxford Children’s Hospital, which did not exist when Andrew was undergoing his treatment. Since that time, he has raised tens of thousands of pounds to help bring the idea of the hospital to reality.

“I had to go between John Radcliffe Hospital and the former Radcliffe Infirmary because there was no children’s hospital then. It was really needed for children like me, so the fact my fundraising in part has helped to create Oxford Children’s Hospital is amazing, really,” he says.

“Plus it has amazing pull-out beds next to the child’s beds – something which my mum never got to experience during my stays.

“We raised £40,000 specifically to go towards a single patient room on the teenage ward in the hospital, which is named after Play2Give. Being able to fund a room is a long-term impact which will help so many teenagers being cared for in a special environment for years to come.

“That was a very proud moment in March 2017, cutting the ribbon to officially commemorate the unveiling of the room.

“Before COVID, we used to go in and meet the teenagers who was in the sponsored Play2Give Room and their family, which was brilliant. We would talk to them about Play2Give and our story, and having funded it and they realised we understood what they were going through. We look forward to when we can do that again going round the wards and into our room meeting the children and families.”

Alongside the creation of the hospital itself, Andrew has also raised significant sums to help build the new nearby Ronald McDonald House, which provides accommodation for families whose child is in hospital. The new 62-bed facility opened in May, replacing the former 17-bed unit which was the top floor of the children’s hospital.

“When I was in hospital, my mum had to sleep next to my bed, uncomfortable on a makeshift camp bed in an ageing children’s ward, so the Ronald McDonald House is another specialist facility I can really realise the value of,” he says.

“It costs £25 a night for a family to stay in the Ronald McDonald House accommodation, and we have raised around £10,000 now, so that is an enormous amount of nights that parents and siblings can be closer to their loved ones.”

Andrew is also a keen supporter of Headway Oxfordshire, as well as a regular service user. Through his fundraising, he has financed equipment, specifically six specialist neurophysiotherapy chairs, and helped to keep the centre and its services running.

“Going to the Headway activity and rehabilitation centre since 2012 and meeting people has helped me so much, it has brought out my confidence and increased my skills and cognitive functioning,” he says.

“When I first started going, I was quiet, shy and anxious Andy, but that’s not the case now. I spend two days each week at the centre with fellow brain injury survivors and while we’re all unique with our brain injuries, we share experiences and can understand what we are all going through with no fear and with reassurance.

“I actually use the physio chairs our fundraising efforts in 2017 helped to fund, so I am benefiting from this fantastic custom-built machinery  along with so many people.”

Although the pandemic has sadly prevented the team’s Christmas toy drops to the Oxford Children’s Hospital this year, the donations in gifts this Christmas will still continue although in a different way.

“We absolutely love going onto the wards, the aim of what we do through our Sleigh2Give arm is to bring a bit of cheer joy and raise some smiles,” says Andrew.

“But the donations are still continuing this year so we can help families out a bit at what is a difficult time when your child is in hospital and more so over Christmas and we also branch it out to enable other children and families less fortunate and the vulnerable to also receive a dose of Elf Andy generosity with the gift of presents at Christmas time.”

While Andrew admits fundraising this year has been tough, Play2Give will still raise in excess of at least £10,000 by the end of 2020, with Andrew being as committed as ever to continuing his work going forward, with further plans for growth of his organisation and more exciting events.

“People have really taken Play2Give to their hearts, we have a lot of love and admiration for what we do, the reaction from people locally is brilliant,” says Andrew.

“This year has been difficult but we have still seen so much generosity from people, it is always heartwarming and even more this year. I just want them to know that their donations are going towards helping those who will see so much benefit from it. Together we are transforming lives, and that is such a fantastic thing.”