A pioneering East Oxford hospice is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the opening of its chain of charity shops.

Helen & Douglas House, which was the world’s first children’s respite hospice when it started in 1981, opened its first charity shop in Oxford’s Covered Market on November 17, 2003.

To mark the anniversary, five days of celebration — all focused around the number five — will be held in the shop starting today .

Shop manager Frances Reid said: “We hope the public will help us celebrate our fifth birthday in style.

“Apart from having fun, the staff and our loyal volunteers wanted to show how proud we are to have been raising awareness and invaluable funds for the children and young adults that visit Helen & Douglas House.

“We look forward to doing this for many more years to come.”

Celebrations will start with hospice founder and trustee Sister Frances Dominica cutting an anniversary cake.

Also at the launch will be artist and photographer Mike Hamand, along with music provided by a Royal Academy cello student.

A ‘Famous Five’ window will be on display in the shop and a family quiz will be staged with questions about all things connected with the number five.

Several Covered Market traders will also have the quiz sheets in their shops and have been getting involved in the celebrations by hiding Helen & Douglas House teddy bears for a treasure hunt.

The hospice now has 18 shops, each bringing in around £25,000 a year for the Magdalen Road-based hospice — enough to pay to run the hospice for more than two days.

Its 19th shop will open in Chesham, Bucks, in December, with a 20th shop, focusing on furniture, opening in Headington’s Windmill Road in January.

Hospice head of retail David Cryer said: “The shops are becoming increasingly important in the credit crunch environment because people are trading down from the likes of mid-market Marks and Spencers and looking for individual items from charity shops.

“Because the Covered Market was our first shop, it was special because it was the catalyst for a retail operation which has been fundamental to our strategy.

“The public profile of having the Helen & Douglas House name in such a high profile location means the charity has become better known — and profits have increased every single year.”

Helen & Douglas House is the fastest growing charity shop chain in the country, with a further three shops due to open after the Headington store before March next year.