Jailbreak Raises Over £15,000
More than £15,000 has been raised for St Elizabeth Hospice through the hosting of its most recent Jailbreak fundraiser.
Held on Thursday 25th April, Jailbreak saw the independent Suffolk Charity with partner Suffolk Constabulary to arrest a group of eight ‘criminals’ from local business and community leaders for various ‘crimes’, with supporters encouraged to donate funds to the hospice to raise their bail.
Liz Baldwin, Corporate and Sponsorship Fundraising Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “Well done to all our Jailbreak participants for raising such a brilliant amount of money for the hospice and a big thank you to everybody who donated and helped raise their bails!
“A special ‘thank you’ goes to Suffolk Constabulary for their support of Jailbreak and allowing us to use their police van and have officers attend on the day as well.”
Catherine Vickery, Director at MacKenzie-King, who took part in Jailbreak, said: “I had the privilege of participating in the St Elizabeth Hospice Jailbreak 2024, an organisation that holds a special place in my heart for their incredible care for my father before he passed 18 months ago.
“Though I anticipated being ‘arrested’, the actual experience of being escorted into a police van, undergoing processing, and having my fingerprints taken was great fun!”
Jenna Ackerley, Managing Director at Events Under Canvas Ltd, also took part and added: “I had so much fun being part of Jailbreak for the hospice. I was arrested for crimes against growing up, and embraced my crime whole-heartedly by resisting arrest and attempting to escape from the Town Hall!
“I was blown away by the swift support from my friends, family and networks and managed to drum up £1,400 bail money in one morning from the clink. The prison food and refreshments were surprisingly delicious, and the guards from the hospice and the police officers were wonderful.
“Suffolk is so lucky to have St Elizabeth Hospice supporting those most in need and I was delighted to have the chance to show my support to this brilliant organisation.”
As well as the hospice’s Jailbreak, the charity’s young adult service, Zest, hosted its own Jailbreak on Friday 26th April, which has raised over £900 for Zest. The Zest team and young adults were delighted to welcome Suffolk Constabulary to Zest Days and they enjoyed seeing the official police van, hearing the sirens roar, trying on the police uniforms and even taking some fingerprints.
St Elizabeth Hospice’s Jailbreak will be returning April 2025 once more. To register your interest in taking part, please email corporateteam@stelizabethhospice.org.uk.
