Halifax MP, Holly Lynch and the trustees of the Doreen Pickles Memorial fund have awarded grants to successful applicants of the Doreen Pickles Memorial Fund.

Doreen Pickles was a weaver, trade union leader, lecturer and member of Halifax Labour Party. Upon her death, in December 2020, she left money to Trustees of her estate which was to be spent advancing women’s involvement in progressive politics and campaigns, and Holly was approached by the trustees of her estate to help develop and administer a scheme to allocate the money.

Holly Lynch said: “I want to thank everyone who applied to the fund as we heard from some inspirational local women with amazing ideas. The trustees and I felt sure that Doreen would have approved of the projects that we have chosen to support and we are looking forward to seeing the results.”

Lucy Arden and Miranda Roszkowski were among the winners and will deliver a project entitled ‘Woven Warriors’. The initiative aims to celebrate local women’s stories and will involve a series of workshops where local women of all backgrounds can come together to learn basic weaving skills and work towards creating a final piece to be displayed as a long-term tribute to Doreen, her values and her love for her town.

Commenting on their successful application Lucy & Miranda said: “We would just like to say how honoured we are to have been awarded this grant. We look forward to using it to make a difference to the women of Halifax and beyond.”

The trustees were also delighted to support Alison Schofield and the Disability Roadmap to deliver disability training as part of the Professional Policing Undergraduate degree at the University of Huddersfield to promote best practice within law enforcement when working with people with disabilities.

About The Doreen Pickles Memorial Fund:

The Doreen Pickles Memorial Fund is designed to support and empower women who are working to make a positive impact in their communities.

More than £16,000 has now been donated from the fund to winners of the memorial fund competition as well as the Jo Cox Women in Leadership Programme and the Labour Women’s Network which supports and mentors women aspiring to take on leadership roles and elected representation.