Fundraiser's pride over charity room naming honour

A charity fundraiser said having a new room named after him at a service he spent years receiving help from "makes me feel really proud".

Andrew Baker, from Didcot, was born with a brain injury and credits Oxford Head Injury Service (OHIS) with helping increase his confidence and rebuild many of his life skills.

Andy went on to found his own charity, Play2Give, and was recognised for his fundraising efforts in 2021, when he was awarded an MBE for services to charity.

Play2Give recently provided nearly £4,500 worth of funding for OHIS to open a new sensory room at its site in Kennington, which has aptly been named "Andy's room".

Attending the official opening of the new room, Andy told the BBC: "They [OHIS] set about calling it Andy's room in tribute to me, which is just really lovely because I've spent almost 40 years of my life here.

"It's like a second home in some ways to me and to know that I'm leaving a legacy, it's just really, really special.

"It makes me feel really proud."

Andy has spent the past 24 years fundraising to support organisations that helped him on his road to recovery.

As part of those efforts, he has raised more than £35,000 for OHIS and thousands more in gifts and physical donations.

He said the new room at the centre named in his honour was "a very special area that's been completely transformed".

"It used to just be a room [which was] just storage, and was dull, drab and white, and it's just been transformed into a sensory relaxation space," he said.

Michelle Koukoullis, from OHIS, said the room was now a space where the charity's users could "feel calm" and "go for escapism if they don't want to be part of any activity".

"It's a really special place [named after] a special guy," she said.

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