Six local people from the business community have raised £9,200 for Weldmar Hospicecare, plus more than £1,000 for the Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum, by getting locked up for the day in the cells at the museum in Dorchester.
The day began with ‘sentencing’ of the participants in the court, who all had to raise a total of £999 by the end of the day in order to be released.
The Jail and Bail event was put together by Fiona Hansford, Weldmar’s Business Development Fundraiser, who said, “What a brilliant day, and a fantastic amount of money raised for Weldmar Hospicecare, which will all go towards specialist care for adults in Dorset who have a life limiting illness, and support for their loved ones. A special thank you to Shire Hall Historic Courthouse Museum for hosting the event for us so well, complete with a judge and sentencing as well as use of the cells. Of course, a massive thank you to all of the participants and their employers, who really got behind it and helped make it such a resounding success.”
Carl McClements, found guilty of being a ‘Fair Weather Football Fan’, representing Phoenix Care Ltd, told us, “It ended up being a team effort, with everyone backing each other and helping them raise as much money as possible. A big shout out to the judge, who played the part really well! I was gobsmacked with the amount of money we raised, I did not expect that at all. Weldmar is close to our hearts in our family, so it was unbelievable.”
Bethany Weaver from RiskSTOP Group was charged with ‘First Degree Bubbly Behaviour’, and said, “It was absolutely fantastic! I went into it feeling rather nervous, but at the end of the day, having raised so much money to help, I’m so glad I did it.”
‘Grant Theft Candy’ was on the charge sheet of Danielle Holder of Gungho Marketing, who remarked, “It was incredible, and lots of fun, especially working with people from a number of other local companies. When we found out that at 4pm we had collectively raised more than £8,000, and the amount of care that would pay for, it touched my heart more than before because I know what Weldmar had done for my mum when she needed it most, so it was incredible.”
Scott Emery from Dream Cottages was charged with ‘Aggravated Colleague Ignoring’, and said, “The whole experience was brilliant, and it was all for Weldmar which is such a great charity that we all need to support so that it can continue to be there for the local community. If was a really good buzz!”
Weldmar also had their own ‘convict’, with Director of Retail Gavin Anderson-Terry jailed for the day for ‘Crimes Against Fashion’. Gavin told us, “Being here, in the historic courtroom, and then down in the cells, was amazing, having never been here before. The camaraderie with the rest of the guys taking part was fantastic, egging each other on and pushing each other to raise the money for Weldmar.”
Money was also raised for Shire Hall’s own Memory Café – a monthly drop in facility for people with memory difficulties, and their carers and family members – by David Upshall, from David Upshall Insurance Services, who is a Trustee of the charity. He says, “I really enjoyed it. Everyone worked so well together, and what a wonderful amount of money we’ve raised for two really good causes. The Memory Café is something that is very much needed in Dorchester, not only for the people who have Alzheimer’s, but the people who look after them. I think it it’s so important that they have somewhere to go where they can meet and talk.”
Congratulations to David, who raised more than £1,000, after being sentenced to a day in the cells for ‘Reckless Withholding of Treats’ in the office!
Weldmar Hospicecare thanks all the participants and their supporters, plus Shire Hall, for their involvement on the day.
