Oxford’s Helen & Douglas House is among five charities set to benefit after CarFest announced a new programme of regional charity partners ahead of its first-ever festival at Silverstone.
The family festival, founded by broadcaster Chris Evans, has named Northamptonshire Community Foundation, The Pace Centre, Helen & Douglas House, The Smallpeice Trust and Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity as its regional charity partners for 2026.
Each organisation will receive two per cent of the total funds raised through this year’s event, reflecting CarFest’s decision to expand its charitable giving to communities surrounding its new home at Silverstone Circuit.
The announcement marks a new chapter for the festival, which has raised more than £28 million for children’s charities since it was launched in 2012.
For Oxfordshire, the inclusion of Helen & Douglas House is particularly significant. Founded in Oxford in 1982, it was the world’s first children’s hospice and has gone on to inspire more than 50 similar hospices across the UK and internationally.
Today, the charity provides specialist palliative, respite, end-of-life and bereavement care for babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, while supporting families across Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley. The hospice relies largely on charitable donations, with Queen Camilla serving as its patron.
The other regional charity partners also support communities around Silverstone. Northamptonshire Community Foundation awards more than £1 million in grants each year to local organisations, The Pace Centre provides specialist education and therapy for children with neurodisabilities, The Smallpeice Trust encourages young people into engineering and technology through STEM programmes, while Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity funds specialist nurses caring for seriously ill children across the UK.
Chris Evans, founder of CarFest, said: “CarFest has always been about more than a great weekend. It is about making a genuine difference to the communities around us. As we head to Silverstone for the first time, we are so proud to be supporting five incredible local charities doing vital work right on our doorstep.”
He added that every ticket purchased for the August Bank Holiday festival would help fund the charities’ work.
David Whittingham, CEO of Helen & Douglas House, said the partnership would help the charity continue supporting families facing some of the most difficult circumstances.
“We are so grateful to CarFest for naming us as a charity partner this year,” he said. “Every family that comes to us is going through something incredibly difficult, and our whole purpose is to make sure they never have to face it alone.”
CarFest takes place at Silverstone Circuit from 28 to 30 August 2026 and promises its biggest edition yet, bringing together seven themed experiences comprising Cars at CarFest, KidsFest, FoodFest, RetroFest, SpaFest, StarFest, and a unified Music programme that includes the Main Stage, Club CarFest and the Wigwam stage.
The entertainment line-up features Tom Jones, Jessie J, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Rick Astley, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sugababes, The Proclaimers and Gabrielle, alongside family attractions, celebrity guests and live demonstrations.
Ten per cent of the face value of every ticket sold, together with all festival profits, will be donated to charitable causes.
The five regional charity partners join CarFest’s established national charity beneficiaries. BBC Children in Need will receive 50 per cent of the funds raised, while Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, Starlight Children’s Foundation, Teenage Cancer Trust and Young Epilepsy will each receive seven per cent. A further five per cent will be allocated to other charitable causes.
With Silverstone close to Oxfordshire’s northern border, organisers say the move will bring the fundraising festival closer to communities across the region.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Helen & Douglas House was one of three regional charity partners announced by CarFest. It has been updated to reflect that the charity is one of five regional charity partners named for the 2026 festival.
