Volunteers’ Week: Cara Manning-Diabira

We are fortunate to be supported by a growing network of passionate volunteer ambassadors who champion the charity and share in our mission to create connections through meaningful live music experiences for people in hospitals and care settings. One of those inspiring voices is Cara Manning-Diabira. 

Cara first discovered Music in Hospitals & Care through a chance Facebook post. “I immediately felt an affinity with the charity,” she recalls. “I got in touch because I wanted to be in some way involved with their work, to help them in whatever way I could.” 

Cara began playing piano at just four years old and later studied music performance at the Royal Northern College of Music. Though her career path later led her to teaching English as an additional language, music has remained a constant thread in her life. Today, she continues to perform and sings with Forth Valley Chorus, an internationally competing women’s barbershop chorus. She also regularly performs and competes with her quartet, Go Forth. 

For Cara, the value of live music goes far beyond performance. “Live music offers an invaluable opportunity for shared human experience and connection,” she explains. “For those in hospital, or in care settings, the clinical environment can become consuming. People are often stripped of their sense of self, but music has the power to reconnect us to who we are.” 

Through her role as an ambassador, Cara has experienced first-hand the profound impact of our live music. “I’ve attended live music experiences in several healthcare settings and seen just how much joy they bring to patients and staff alike,” she shares. “Volunteering has given me a deeper insight into the important work the charity does. I hope that by raising awareness, it will bring about further support for the charity and help to continue its meaningful work.” 

Cara’s story is a powerful reminder of how music can connect, uplift, and remain a constant source of inspiration in someone’s life. Her voice, and those of our ambassadors help us to reach even more people and inform them about our work and ways to support.