Voices for Hospices, a charity in the United Kingdom dedicated to increasing awareness of the work of hospice and palliative care units, caring for the terminally ill, and enabling the raising of funds to support their work, is planning "the world's largest simultaneous singing event" for October 8, 2005.

Since 1991, these fund-raisers have taken place in churches, village halls, theaters, concert halls, pubs, clubs, schools, and many other venues around the globe. Classical oratorios, other sacred music, folk songs, jazz, excerpts from shows, specially composed pieces, operas, and operettas are an essential part of the evening.

Each event will support a local palliative care unit, which will receive the net profits from the evening as a donation.

Each event is an opportunity to publicize hospice efforts, and to attract new hospice volunteers.

Most important, each event allows communities to support local hospices directly.

Individual events will be linked together via the Web site "to celebrate all who turn to the hospice movement for help and all who provide it."

In 2005, Voices for Hospices acknowledges the contribution that is made in other ways too by encouraging poetry, prose, plays, comedy, karaoke, singathons, and roving concerts.

They are also seeking volunteers to help hospices whose staff lack the time to stage fund-raising events. If you are a member of a choral group, church choir, school music department, amateur operatic group, theater company, a social/service club like Rotary or Soroptimists, or if you run a stage school or a pub with a music license, you can help.

For details please visit Voices for Hospices' Web site at http://www.voicesforhospices.org/frameset.html.

(Release)