Keeping Helen and Douglas House hospices running is not a cheap business.

It costs about £4m every year to pay for staff, care and the general upkeep of the two hospices, in Leopold Street and Magdalen Road. Staff at the pioneering hospices are celebrating the 25th anniversary of Helen House - the first children's hospice in the world - and calling on the people of Oxfordshire to continue supporting the charity so it can keep providing respite care for children and young adults for another 25 years.

Head of fundraising Jo Mitchell said: "It costs about £11,000 a day to keep the two hospices running, with the biggest pressure being medical care, everything from doctors to the care team workers, therapists and support staff.

"We give 24-hour care, a lot of which is one-to-one and obviously we're caring not just for the child, but supporting the whole family, so we have to provide facilities for them to stay too.

"And it doesn't end with bereavement, either. In most cases we continue to support the families for two to three years afterwards, and we have the Helen House Sibs Club for brothers and sisters too."

To mark the 25th anniversary, the charity has had a big push for fundraising this year - including the biggest event in its history, a charity ball in Henley, which brought in more than £165,000.

But Mrs Mitchell said it was vital to keep people's attention on the charity. She said: "We have had a lot of things going on, all of which have given us a massively increased profile this year. The important thing for us is to try to maintain that profile and build on what we have done this year.

"We want to create a greater sense of community ownership for people to feel proud they have got a facility like this in their area. It will hopefully encourage them to support it in different ways."

People have found weird and wonderful ways to raise money for the hospice, including a pole-dancing marathon and selling a slice of beetroot on eBay.

This month's Round Table fireworks display in South Park, Oxford, was also in aid of the hospices. The charity has also just organised its first challenge, with a trek to the Great Wall of China, and another one is planned to the Mount Everest base camp next May.

Mrs Mitchell said: "We need to have a range of different ways that people can fundraise.

"On one end of the scale, we have got the Oxford Round Table, who are paying for a whole day, but we value the child who gives their pocket money as much as the organisation that gives a major donation."

The easiest ways to donate to the hospices are online at www.helenanddouglas.org.uk, or by going into one of the organisation's charity shops in Oxford, Abingdon, Wantage and Witney.

What do your donations pay for?

Providing dinner for a guest: £2.50; Providing a day's oxygen for a child at Helen House: £2.50;A lesson at Helen House for a child staying for respite care or for a sibling: £16; Providing medical supplies for a day for one of the houses: £18; A music therapy or spa bath session: £25;Electricity for one day: £31; An hour's session with a doctor: £36; Grounds maintenance per week: £39;Employing one care team member for one day: £46 (average); The cost of running the Douglas House bar for a Saturday night: £50 plus volunteer; A chef for the day at Helen House or Douglas House: £55; Employing one nurse for one day: £85 (average);One bereavement team visit lasting two hours: £40; The cost of one member of staff's training for one year: £500; A night's sleep for mum and dad staying with their child at Helen House: £588 (includes clinical care costs, support sessions, accommodation, food etc);Cleaning Helen House and Douglas House for a week: £1,000; A weekend stay for the whole family: £2,500 (24/7 clinical care, support sessions, accommodation, food, activities for siblings); Running the charity for one day: £11,000; Heating, lighting and electricity for one year: £11,165; Cost of a nurse for a year: £30,000 (average).