Business leaders from across Oxfordshire will be going on trial for some fictitious (but very entertaining!) crimes – the only way to secure their release is to raise their bail of £999, with every penny raised going directly to Helen & Douglas House, your local children’s hospice in Oxford. Will you be one of them?!
Date: Thursday 18th September 2025
Location: Oxford Castle & Prison
Bail target: £999
What to expect:
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You’ll kick off the day at Helen & Douglas House Hospice to meet your fellow prisoners and make the most of your final breakfast before the police van arrives to arrest and escort you to the wonderfully atmospheric Oxford Castle & Prison
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Are you always taking the last biscuit? Never remember to take your mic off of mute before speaking?! After being sentenced for the fictitious crimes your colleagues have accused you of – for which you’ll inevitably be found guilty! – you’ll be banished to a cell where you’ll spend the day appealing to your networks to raise your bail and secure your freedom! Think: colleagues, friends, family and social media connections
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Throughout the day there will also be opportunities for a jailbreak game, a tour of the castle and to hear all about the impact of your fundraising from the clinical team at Helen & Douglas House. The day will wrap up and final fundraising totals announced at 4pm
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You will be provided with support packs full of fundraising tips and tricks in advance, as well as content you can share across social media to start warming up your networks ahead of the day. Throughout the day you’ll also be supported by our team of fabulous fundraising experts to help you raise your bail!
Why get involved?
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It’ll be a brilliant opportunity to generate publicity for your business, network with other local businesses, and make a huge difference for the children and families we support at Helen & Douglas House. Most of all, it’s a really fun day!
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Participants in previous years have included CEOs, MPs and even a firefighter, so it’s a real mix of local business folk who join us!
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Here’s a press article from a couple of years back that gives a great picture of the day: Oxford hospice locks business leaders in prison for charity | Oxford Mail
More about Helen & Douglas House:
Helen & Douglas House provides specialist palliative care to local terminally ill children, enabling them to experience the magic of childhood despite their prognosis and live life as fully as possible. The work we do is varied and personalised depending on each family’s needs and is delivered at our purpose-built children’s hospice in Oxford, in the child’s own home or in other community settings in the surrounding counties.
Ready to take on the challenge? You can find the registration form to sign up here: Helen and Douglas House Jail and Bail 2025 | Helen and Douglas House. If you have any questions, drop Olivia and Sarah a line at corporate@helenanddouglas.org.uk.
We can’t wait to see you behind bars very soon!