Tuesday 19-09-2017 - 02:53

Jailbreak is a national, uni-wide charity hitchhiking event, starting 8am on a Saturday, that lasts a complete 36 hours. Several teams of brave students will travel as far away from Durham as they possibly can without spending any money of their own or using their own vehicle. Ending at a national or hopefully international destination, Jailbreak finishes at 8pm on the Sunday, where participants will take a team photo in front of a landmark of the city they landed in! The students themselves chose the charity they want to raise money for with participation fee of £20 and a fundraising fee of £50 for each student taking part. We particularly love how engaged Durham students have been with the challenge over the years, especially the Freshersand we would like this trend to continue! The DUCK Team will be live tracking every team throughout the entire 36 hours making sure that they are safe and that we have their location up to date. There are so many success stories with DUCK Jailbreak, including the legendary Richard Branson-sponsored team that managed to fly all the way to Australia within the short time-span. Two years ago, another team flew to Los Angeles and spent a week on the beach. Another adventurous team managed to get to Seville, without flying once, solely funded through their violin busking. Last year, final destinations included Alicante, Tenerife and even Ayia Napa. We are thinking of organizing the event during the period after exams so students can enjoy some time in their final destination guilt-free. Keep your eyes peeled for more information on social media and the SU website!

Other Challenges:

If Jailbreak is not for you, there are other DUCK Challenges you can get involved with throughout the year, particularly Formally Lost and the Everest Trek Challenge. Formally Lost will be happening during the first term, where a group of students will be blindfolded and transported to an unknown location. Similar to the Jailbreak spirit, the participants will hitchhike their way back to Durham in time for a wonderful Castle Formal. The Everest Trek will be happening in association with Choose a Challenge, raising funds for the charity Hope for Children. The 11-day trek will be happening September 2018, but students will be fundraising from early on in the year!