About
Welcome
WHERE LET JUNE BEGAN
Let June was established in 2015 to honour the late June Dewhirst. Family and friends of June wanted to build a long-term legacy in her memory by creating a charity to support children and young people in the area where she lived for most of her life – North Kirklees.
As the custodians of June’s vision, our job is an important one. Our mission, through grant giving, is to help improve the life chances of the young people who live or study in our local community.
About June
Born in 1951, June grew up in Ravensthorpe but sadly her childhood was an unhappy one. She suffered horrific physical and sexual abuse at home and was bullied at school. This destroyed her self-esteem but, much more positively, it instilled in her a deep love for children and young people. She was determined to be a positive influence on children and over the years encountered hundreds of children in and around Mirfield.
She worked at a school for children with special needs and later set up a Mother and Toddler Club in Mirfield which she ran for over ten years. For many years, she had her heart set on working abroad and in 2006 travelled to Esmeraldas in Ecuador with the Salvation Army. There she spent several months volunteering with young children and their families where her infectious warmth and generosity shone through despite not speaking the language.
June was a natural people person who was very sociable and with a lovely sense of humour. She passed away in 2014 and is remembered by her family and friends for her devotion to her children and grandchildren. We hope we have given you a sense of what a special lady she was.
“June was an incredible, inspirational woman who adored children“
AT THE BEGINNING…
Let June was created by five members of the Dewhirst family together with our closest friend, Colin Bradly. Colin was a cornerstone to our growth and development until he suddenly and very sadly passed away in September 2021. We miss his friendship, clear thinking and his vision for the future.
Andy Glennon was appointed as a Trustee in 2016 bringing enthusiasm, balanced judgement and considerable financial acumen to our Board.
Initially, our main challenge was working out how to identify children and young people that could benefit from Let June’s support. We started by introducing Let June to a range of school teachers and college leaders, social workers, faith leaders and sports clubs. Through this network, we have been able to tell the story of Let June and share our vision for the charity.
We have been overwhelmed by their enthusiasm and kindness and for the time they have given to help us grow our understanding of young people’s needs.
THE PARTNERSHIPS WE’VE BUILT…
Building relationships with professionals who work alongside children and young people in our community has been a key part of our development. We like to be active locally and have developed a wide range of connections with schools, colleges, voluntary organisations, local charities and intervention services.
Let June also benefits from the advice and guidance of our Charity Ambassadors, Matthew Burton, Mohammed Mamaniat, Lauren Rayner and Rashida Salloo. They each bring extensive experience from different perspectives of working with children and young people in North Kirklees. The support they give to the Trustees helps us understand where the greatest need is in our community and the challenges facing young people.
We have also been involved in partnerships alongside other local organisations including One Community and the Jo Cox Foundation and are currently working in partnership with Northorpe Hall in Mirfield.
WHERE WE ARE TODAY
We are proud to say that our grant giving has grown year on year and we have made over 650 awards to young people and given away nearly £150,000.
During the Covid-19 pandemic we adapted our grant giving and worked closely with schools to identify how best to ensure students had the best chance of continuing to learn at home and provided emergency funding to support the most vulnerable children with essential equipment to facilitate home learning. As the cost-of-living crisis took hold we continued to make ad-hoc funds available to fund essential winter items such as hats, scarves and footwear to help vulnerable children through the cold months.
Our VISION
Our vision is simple. We believe that Let June can have a long-lasting, positive impact on the lives of children living and studying in North Kirklees. We aim to give away £25,000 each year in awards that will enrich the lives of the children we support and, in some way, big or small, make a difference to their lives.
We operate on a referral basis and invite all professionals and volunteers working with young people in North Kirklees to get in touch to find out how we can help.
