Over £8,500 raised so far: Dorchester Literary Festival continues incredible support for Weldmar

Organisers of Dorchester Literary Festival have visited Weldmar Hospicecare’s Inpatient Unit to hand over a brilliant donation of more than £3,600 from this year’s event.

The sum comes from proceeds from a book tombola, and donations from both celebrity speakers and attendees of the festival.

It brings the total amount raised by the event to £8,500 in the past three years.

This year’s festival included appearances from Jeremy Vine, Sir Tony Robinson, Rev Richard Coles, Gyles Brandreth, long term Weldmar supporter Martin Clunes, and the charity’s former Chair, Geoffrey Guy.

Fundraising Lead at Weldmar Hospicecare, Fiona Hansford, says the festival’s support is hugely appreciated:

“We are delighted to have had such wonderful support from Dorchester Literary Festival over the past three years. It’s always exciting to see the well known names coming to town when the programme is published, and we’re so grateful to be able to have a presence at each event with our own literature, and an opportunity to take donations. The money raised through this generosity will help our brilliant nurses, doctors, and other health care professionals at Weldmar provide vital, specialist care and support for local adults who have a life limiting illness, and their loved ones. We look forward to the next chapter in 2026!”

Janet Gleeson is a Director of the Dorchester Literary Festival, and says:

“The DLF is delighted to support Weldmar Hospicecare: a hugely important and worthwhile local charity. We are grateful for the generosity of our attendees, volunteers and speakers, all of whom contributed to this year’s record breaking total.’