SOUL singers will devote fundraising efforts to a hospice that helped their 'incredible' friend.

Oxford Gospel Choir has named Sobell House Hospice as its charity of the year, in tribute to the choir's former treasurer Jan Holland.

Proceeds from concerts and collections will be donated to the Headington charity for the next 12 months, in Mrs Holland's memory.

The Eynsham resident, who sang in the choir for 13 years, died in May after battling breast cancer.

Choir director Jules Francis-Sinclair said: "She was an incredible lady. She was very strong and faith-driven, and had a real love for gospel music.

"Sobell House is a fantastic resource for cancer sufferers and their friends and family.

"In the choir we have had people going through chemo who come to sing as a therapy.

"We find a lot of people come with health problems or bereavement; it's a very supportive atmosphere. It's like a big family."

Retired solicitor Mrs Holland received support from Sobell before passing away aged 63.

The mum-of-two appeared in the Oxford Mail in 2010 for cycling more than 1,000 miles across Africa for charity.

Abingdon resident Mrs Francis-Sinclair said supporting good causes were part of the 'ethos' of a community choir.

The 36-year-old added: "We don't do concerts to make a profit, we feel the money should go into the community.

"It's fantastic to raise money while doing something you love – we feel quite blessed."

Much like the choir, Sobell House also champions the use of song, to aid health and encourage creativity.

It has its own music therapist and instrument room, where people can create their own songs or listen to old favourites to evoke memories.

Dominique Cadiou, head of fundraising at Sobell, said: "We are absolutely thrilled that Oxford Gospel Choir has chosen us to be the charity of the year.

"It's an incredibly exciting time for the charity and we are delighted to welcome Oxford Gospel Choir on board."

The choir, which has almost 100 members, supported Oxford Homeless Pathways (OxHoP) as its previous cause of the year.

It raised more than £5,000 for the charity and also put together more than 50 'care boxes' to support people spending Christmas on the streets.

Mackenzie Aspell, a fundraiser of OxHoP, said: "It means so much for us to have the support of local community groups – the support the choir has given us is needed now more than ever."

The choir hopes to celebrate similar fundraising success for Sobell House, which will support the hospice's expansion.

The first key fundraising event will be the choir's Christmas concerts at Wesley Memorial Church on December 8 and 9, for which tickets will be available in November.