Despite turning 90 this year, June Howe is still an active volunteer in her local community of Harden-Murrumburrah.
June Howe is an incredibly humble women and not one to seek out accolades. Despite this she has clearly inspired others in the community over the years and hence has already been recognised at the local level numerous times.
On Wednesday 17th September, June was recognised at the regional level and June has now been asked to attend a state Gala Ceremony in Sydney.
“June’s co-volunteers at Can Assist asked me to write a nomination for June for the NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year Award as they are so inspired by her incredible dedication to the local community and feel many more people could be inspired by her across all of NSW,” HRDC CEO, Melissa Pinney said.
“When I asked June if I could speak with her about her history of volunteering and what she has been involved in most recently, she was a bit taken aback that people wanted her nominated for such a prestigious award.
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"To me, this was just another demonstration of the selfless person that June is.
“My dad said to me recently that anytime he doesn’t feel like getting up to much, he only has to think of June to be reminded that it doesn’t matter what age you are, you can make a small difference every day to your local community through volunteering some of your time,” Melissa said.
June is regularly seen selling raffle tickets for Can Assist Harden-Murrumburrah.
This includes sitting outside Supabarn at all times of year, even in the cold of winter.
Just over the past 12 months, June has volunteered at fundraising events in whatever capacity is needed.
That could be collecting tickets at the door of an event or serving customers at a BBQ.
Sometimes its being one of the first on the dance floor to encourage others to get into the action.
June doesn’t need an excuse to get on the dance floor though.
This was proven when she joined Terry Ricketts in Can Assist’s Dancing with the Locals fundraiser back in 2019.
June and Terry raised $14,000 alone!
Can Assist is not the only local organisation that June continues to volunteer for.
June does canteen shifts for both the junior and senior rugby league teams, the Harden Hawks, and when needed June supports the canteen for the Harden Pony Club.
June is also a regular volunteer at the Anglican Op Shop and helps another local charity, Flexible Care Services to deliver Meals on Wheels.
June also volunteers her time to visit residents at the Harden Grange Aged Care Home and does gardening to brighten the place up and takes residents out in the fresh air.
June is a member of the Harden Hospital Auxiliary and is always lending a helping hand to a friend or neighbour as well as supporting many local events.
As well as all the groups already mentioned, there have been many other groups that have benefited from June volunteering her time and resources.
This includes being involved with Clean Up Australia Day for over 30 years, as well as helping with church raffles and with the many sporting clubs June and her seven
children were involved with as they grew up in the twin towns of Harden-Murrumburrah.
In addition to Rugby League, June has supported groups in other sports such as Hockey, Swimming, and Tennis.
June will now attend the NSW Volunteer of the Year Gala Ceremony later this year where the winners of each region will be recognised and a state winner announced.
When working on the nomination, Melissa asked June why she is still doing so much volunteering at her age.
Her response simply “because I can.”
June is a constant reminder to everyone in the twin towns of the valuable role that volunteers play.
An active volunteer in her community for well over 50 years, June doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon!
