Oxford City FC Guest Speaker Event
We are delighted to partner with Oxford City Football Club for their 3rd Guest Speaker event taking place 21st September 2023. The event is sponsored by Optimal People. With a common goal of enabling young people to reach their full potential, regardless of background or ability, and a shared focus on supporting children living with disabilities realise their dreams, we come together to raise money to enable Rafiki Thabo Foundation to continue our important work enabling access to education in Kenya, Uganda and Lesotho.
Our patrons, Harry Baker and Bob Bhania, will be sharing inspirational stories of how they identified strengths and common goals in overcoming emotional and physical challenges that enabled them to turn adversity into success. They will also talk about their recent Kilimanjaro challenge with Rafiki Thabo Foundation!
The event will be compered by Thom Airs, videographer at Fortitude Communications and broadcast presenter on TalkSPORT2.
A fabulous opportunity, hosted by the exclusive Oxford City FC Business Club, to network with other Oxfordshire businesses, enjoy a delicious 2 course lunch and be inspired!
Venue: Oxford City FC
Date: Thursday 21st September 2023
Time: 12.00 to 15:00
Menu: Main: Pan fried lemon and garlic Chicken Breast with crushed new potatoes, wilted spinach, Parmesan sauce and red beetroot crisps / Dessert: Vanilla Pana cotta with strawberry compote.
Price: £42.50 per ticket
Ticket sales have now closed for our Guest Speaker Event. However, you are welcome to contact [email protected] who will be able to advise whether a place/places can still be accommodated. Otherwise, we would love to see you at another event in the future!
We will also be running a raffle at the lunch and have some incredible prizes lined up, including a Family Match Day Experience at OCFC and a four ball at North Oxford Golf Club.
For any questions relating to this event please contact Caroline O’Connor, OCFC Partnership Manager: 07503799599 / [email protected]
Harry Baker plays football for England: he’s already played 49 matches for his country and has four World Cups and three European Championships under his belt, as well as being the winner of a European Golden Boot. A future which once looked very uncertain for the young lad whose only dream was to play for England.
Harry was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at birth and his parents were told he might never walk. With the support of his family, together with sheer determination and perseverance, Harry proved the doctors wrong. Learning to walk was a struggle, being bullied at school heart-breaking, Harry went through childhood and early teens angry at his disability and doing everything he could to be mainstream. Even playing mainstream football. It was when he was scouted in his mid-teens and embraced his disability however that his football career took off and his dream was realised.
Harry is passionate about boosting awareness of people living with disabilities and promoting disability sport and is actively reaching out to the younger generation to help them understand and be sympathetic to different abilities and also to encourage them to never give up on their dreams. He is a Senior Youth Activator for the CDC, a mentor and a proud patron for Rafiki Thabo Foundation.
Bob Bhania will this year be one of only six people in history to have completed The Explorers’ Grand Slam: reaching both North and South Poles, the 7 volcano summits and the 7 summits. A man with extreme ambitions… with an ability to succeed in the most adverse conditions.
Born in the savannah in sight of Mount Kenya, he was the boy always covered in red dust, a child of nature. After moving to England with his family, Bob had to reinvent his passions and rediscover his inner adventurer. He became an international basketball referee at both wheelchair and able-bodied games, travelling the world. He embarked on a successful finance career in the City.
It was in June 2010 that Bob had a pivotal moment after life threatening surgery. Bob asked himself a question: if he died tomorrow, what would he wish he had done? It defined his life’s challenge. Two years on and Bob was climbing Mount Everest. Thirteen years on, and he joins the Explorer’s Grand Slam elite. In 2022 Bob became a passionate patron of Rafiki Thabo Foundation.
Harry and Bob will share their inspirational stories, how to identify strengths and common goals, overcome emotional and physical challenges enabling them to turn adversity into success. They will talk about their passion for the work of Rafiki Thabo Foundation and the importance of supporting access to sport and education for children of all abilities.
Together with Rafiki Thabo’s third patron, blind TV presenter Amar Latif, Bob and Harry will demonstrate this August how anyone can achieve the seemingly insurmountable with the right support, as they take on Kilimanjaro, with and for, disability and education! Joining them are Everest Legend Kami Rita Sherpa, Rafiki Thabo graduates Ayiesa and Derek, our fundraiser Janne, and a group of fabulous supporters. Learn more about our Kilimanjaro challenge!
We are so grateful to:
Optimal People is a people-performance business partnering with individuals, teams and companies to help them enhance their performance for optimal success.
Based in Oxfordshire, Optimal People supports individuals and companies of all sizes, from large-scale multi-national organisations to SMEs, start-ups, family businesses and smaller local companies.
OXFORD CITY FC – True community football club, with core values of diversity and access for all disabilities to sport.
https://www.facebook.com/OxCityFC/
https://www.instagram.com/oxcityfc/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxcityfc/
FORTITUDE COMMUNICATIONS – Boutique Oxford PR agency and video production agency, that delivers impactful results across traditional media, digital and social media.
https://twitter.com/fortitude_comms
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fortitude-communications/
https://www.instagram.com/fortitude_communications/
https://www.facebook.com/FortitudeCommunications
ALIGN EVENTS – pioneering all-vegan, alcohol-free bar service company dedicated to transforming hospitality and socialisation. Operating across Oxfordshire and the Southeast, we cater to the growing number of individuals choosing mindful drinking options.
https://www.instagram.com/ALIGN_EVENTS_/
NORTH OXFORDSHIRE GOLF CLUB – Your local venue for golf and business meetings.
https://www.facebook.com/NorthOxfordGolfClub/
https://twitter.com/northoxfordgolf
SALTPIG CURING COMPANY – Award winning artisan charcuterie hand made in the Cotswolds using whole, rare breed, mature pigs.
https://www.instagram.com/saltpigcuring/
https://www.facebook.com/saltpigcuring
https://twitter.com/saltpigcuring
OXFORDSHIRE WELLNESS – Tania can help you to feel healthier and more energised, either with a relaxing shiatsu/ acupressure massage, or with nutritional advice or with clean, vegan health & wellness products from Arbonne.
www.instagram.com/oxfordshirewellness
www.LinkedIn.com/Tania-noble-a2a62549
MR SIMMS OLDE SWEET SHOPPE CHIPPING NORTON – Your destination shop for old fashioned sweets, chocolate gifts and hampers, and exciting ideas in confectionery innovation and chocolate design.
https://www.instagram.com/mrsimmschippingnorton/
https://www.facebook.com/mrsimmschippingnorton
Looking to work with a charity?
Do you work for a company which wants to set itself apart from its competitors by working with a charity? Do you want your company to be part of the transformative work we are doing in Africa? Good news – we are looking for new companies to work with and would love to work with you! Read more.