July Newsletter

Dear friends of Sobell House,

We're most definitely ox-cited, and to be honest a little ox-hilarated! OxTrail has hit the streets and venues across the county. With 138 oxen life-sized and small, mustering the herd into location was no mean feat, but already the herd have been in place for three weeks. If you haven't had a chance to see them yet, do check out OxTrail. Come along with friends and family, download the app, and discover amazing pieces of artwork right around the county.

The trail ends on Thursday 29 August and with summer weather finally here, what better time to enjoy the trail!

With my very best wishes,

OxTrail

The opening weeks of OxTrail have been... moo-vellous! We have over 1,900 ox-plorers on the OxTrail app?and over 43,000 sculptures have been collected, with some ox-plorers having already collected ALL 138 sculptures!

Make sure to follow our OxTrail Facebook, Instagram, and X,?where we do 'Top of the Ox' updates on these figures.

Our Hub Shop, located on the Upper Ground of the Westgate, has been bustling with trail-goers picking up their merch and speaking to our Moo Crew.

Read on to find out more ox-citing updates!

OxTrail Auction

On Friday 13 September, at Sa?d Business School, University of Oxford and online, most of our life-sized ox sculptures, and some of the mini oxen, will go under the hammer in a bidding spectacular before ‘herding’ off to their forever homes. ??

Want to own an ox and share in the legacy of OxTrail 2024?

Please register your interest to attend the Auction in-person or online.

Your bids will help to raise vital funds for?Sobell House, so we can continue to support families in Oxfordshire with all of the care, comfort, and compassion they need when facing a life-limiting illness.

Corporate Fun Day

At the start of the trail, sponsors and trail partners battled it out to win a prestigious OxTrail Trophy. The teams undertook challenges and tasks at each ox sculpture including doodling at DoodleOX, creating the best witch face at Blithering Broomsticks, and robotic moves at RobOX!

It was brilliant to see so many enthusiastic trail challengers!

A big well done to our OxTrail champions ODS ?and to our runners up 英国牛津布鲁克斯大学 and Experience Oxfordshire . Thank you to everyone who took part and entered into the spirit wholeheartedly!

We'd also like to say THANK YOU to the sponsors and supporters for this event. As always Oxford Brookes University provided a fabulous venue and excellent support on the day. Align Events supplied us with lovely mocktails, and Gather & Gather provided delicious ice cream and drinks!

A BIG thank you to Oxfordshire Freemasons who very generously sponsored the Corporate Fun Day. It was also great to hear from Tim Grier about the amazing charity work they do!

Mythox

Mythox is a simply stunning ox, and you could be in with a chance of taking him home!

Enter the OxTrail raffle and win this top prize, or other a-moo-zing prizes such as a PS5, MINI Tour experience, a merch bundle, and more!

Tickets cost ￡5 each – good luck!

Buy a raffle ticket ?? www.peoplesfundraising.com/raffle/Oxtrail2024

Forget-Me-Not Ox

The Forget-Me-Not Ox holds the names of loved ones gone, but never forgotten. As you know, OxTrail is raising funds for Sobell House Hospice, and it was important to us to reflect our work in this small but mighty ox. You can make a dedication to honour the life of someone special today, and next week your loved one’s name will be added to the sculpture. Once the trail ends, the Forget-Me-Not Ox will be brought back to the hospice?to graze in its forever home.

Remember a loved one ?? https://sobellhouse.org/appeal/forget-me-not-ox/

Raise 24

What a privilege to collaborate with ten other amazing charities across the county for this new initiative brought by our friends at B4 . Raise'24 is a brand new annual event, inspiring Oxfordshire businesses to take bolder action to help build a fairer, safer, and happier Oxfordshire for all. On 13 December 2024, 300 local business community members will get together in Keble College, Oxford for a fun and festive fundraising extravaganza, competing to raise the most donations on the day for Raise’24.

We will hit the phones, social media, and emails to bring in at least ￡500 per person, or a massive total of ￡150,000!? The difference this will make to Sobell House is enormous and what better way to celebrate Christmas this year than with a party to benefit so many. ?

To get involved, please get in touch with our?Relationships Fundraising Manager, Nikki Gracey or call 07796 608703.

Find out more ?? Raise'24 - Help us raise critical funds for amazing charities (raise4charity.co.uk)

Ryan's Story

Please read Ryan's Sobell story, kindly shared with us by his partner, Nicki.

‘Ryan was a kind and caring man. He was a good friend, a great partner and a brilliant Dad to our young son, Riley. Ryan was the type of person who would do anything for anyone, and if someone needed his help they knew that they could always rely on him to be there for them. A postman by trade, Ryan was popular, sociable, and charismatic with a special talent for getting out of trouble by simply saying ‘I love you’.

In July 2022, our whole world changed when Ryan was diagnosed with aggressive bowel cancer. The cancer spread, and was causing him a lot of pain and discomfort. Ryan was becoming increasingly poorly, spending more time in hospital undergoing tests and receiving treatment. He was so well looked after, but visitors and visiting hours were restricted. Ryan found this difficult, especially being away from Riley. Riley also struggled not seeing his Daddy as much as usual. As Ryan’s condition worsened, the decision was made to move him to Sobell House. For Ryan, and for us as a family, everything changed…’

Continue reading ?? https://sobellhouse.org/patient-story/ryans-story/

The Oxford Derby!

A balmy evening at Oxford City Football Club , saw both Oxford teams battle it out in scorching temperatures! Whilst the score line didn't go City's way, everyone had a brilliant evening. The OxTrail Team enjoyed chatting with the crowd, taking donations, and selling OxTrail merch - those plushies were a hit!?

Well done for a great win Oxford United Football Club ! Huge thanks to our friends Justin, Chris, Andy, and the team at Oxford City FC for an excellent evening!

Thank you for reading this month's newsletter!