Two Dorset-based charities, one providing hospice care and the other a community choir supporting people living with cancer, have announced a merger.
Lewis-Manning Hospice Care said this week that the “exciting new step” will “bring together clinical excellence in palliative care with the powerful therapeutic and community benefits of music and singing”.
Rising Voices Wessex, based in Poole, added that the partnership will expand access to the choir for people living with life-limiting illness and their families across east Dorset and Purbeck.
The charities highlighted the benefits that group singing can bring, including around lowered stress, improved respiratory function, new social connections and overall mental wellbeing.
The merger is also expected to help safeguard the future of Rising Voices Wessex, which was launched by the Dorset Cancer Network in 2013 and became a registered charity three years later. The charity, which had an income of £24,700 in the year to March 2025, faced financial struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic period.
Lewis-Manning Hospice Care recorded an income of £3.63m over the same year – its last published accounting period – against an expenditure of £3.89m. Its income exceeded its expenditure during three of its last five financial years, and has risen steadily since 2021-22 when its income was £2.1m.
‘When charities unite we reach more people’
Clare Gallie, chief executive of Lewis-Manning Hospice Care, said: “We are delighted to welcome Rising Voices Wessex into the Lewis-Manning family. Music brings people together, lifts spirits, and supports emotional wellbeing.
“Across Dorset there are so many brilliant charities supporting our communities. When we unite with a shared purpose, we can reach more people, deliver services more effectively, and make better use of the resources entrusted to us by our supporters.”
Noeline Young, the chair of Rising Voices Choir, said merging with Lewis-Manning Hospice Care “allows the choir to grow and reach more people who may benefit from the support and sense of community it provides”.
