Talented young people from city and county get help to achieve goals thanks to local charity JHMT

TALENTED young people from Leicester and Leicestershire are the latest to receive a grant from local charity - the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust (JHMT) - to help them reach their goals in sport, creative arts, music, community endeavour, and entrepreneurism.

As part of the charity's latest round of Inspire Awards, grants of up to £500 have been made to 17 young people.

The Inspire Awards were set up to help young people from the city and county, aged 13-21, to achieve their goals in a range of fields. Since the awards' inception in 2014, £70,350 has been awarded to help 319 x young people flourish and do amazing things.

The JHMT was set up in memory of Leicester teenager Joe Humphries, who collapsed and died in October 2012 while out jogging near his family home in Rothley, Leicestershire. Joe was a victim of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) – a group of lethal heart diseases which can cause sudden cardiac death in young people. The JHMT provides free CPR training, helps to fund community defibrillators and campaigns for better understanding of SADS, as well as running the Inspire Awards small grants scheme

The latest recipients of the awards are:

Ada Haynes-Mills - 13 years old from Wymeswold, Loughborough. At such a young age, Ada was selected as a member of the GB U18's dragon boat team for the World Championships in Brandenburn earlier in July. This is just reward for years of practice learning the fundamental skills since the age of seven and having a real passion for her sport with encouragement and support from her family, in particular her mum who's also involved in dragon boating.

Ada said: "I have been a part of my local Dragon Boat club, Soaring Dragons, for 6 years now! I have been the drummer for the last five years and I have been paddling for about one year now. I love dragon boating because it is something that my mum and I can do together and enjoy. I am the youngest paddler, not only at Soaring but also in team GB. But in this sport, age really doesn't matter! I love how I can do a sport with my Mum, and we can be part of the same team!

"Being selected to represent Great Britain in this sport is all self-funded. So, this inspire award (£350) has been brilliant! It has helped me to fund my kit and also helped me get out to Germany. I am so grateful for the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust for helping me to achieve my dreams of representing my country at a World Championship!"

Alan Dwojak - 14 years of age and from Leicester. He is a young basketball player who from seven years of age found basketball and ever since has grown with the sport, taking in a five-year spell as a member of Leicester Riders junior section and is enjoying a memorable season with his current club Leicester Dynamite.

Alan said: "Not long ago, me and my basketball team Leicester Dynamite where able to get to the semifinals of the U15 YBL competition. So far, we have stayed unbeaten and hope to stay until the finals and potentially lift the trophy. The grant (£200) was used to fund my trip to the All-star camp held in Leicester Riders home Mattioli Arena. This camp helped me greatly improve my skills and experience. Next season I will most likely move on to play in the National league. This grant has greatly boosted the chances of that happening.

"I am also very grateful to the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust through the INSPIRE grants scheme for giving me this opportunity to play at the highest level in my favourite sport."

Amelie Harbour - 17 years old and from Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire. Amelie is a karateka specialising in the traditional martial art of Wado-Ryu karate. She began training with Simon Coope Karate School in Leicestershire at the age of eight and has since earned her 2nd Dan black belt, awarded by the Japanese Karate Federation.

Amelie was first selected to represent England in Wado-Ryu karate at the age of 12. Since then, she has competed internationally at four Federation of European Wado-Kai (FEW) European Championships, claiming three consecutive gold medals in individual kata in 2022 (North Macedonia), 2023 (Belgium), and 2024 (Cyprus). She also holds Silver (2022) and Bronze (2024) medals in individual kumite from the same events, as well as a number of European medals in team events.

This year, Amelie has earned selection for two of the most prestigious upcoming events in the Wado-Ryu karate calendar: the 2025 Wado-Kai International Cup—the World Championships for Wado-Ryu karate. This tournament, held every four years, took place in August at the iconic Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, the venue for martial arts at both the Tokyo 1964 and 2020 Olympics. She will also be representing England at the 50th FEW European Championships in Italy in October 2025.

Amelie said: "It's a privilege to have been awarded an Inspire grant (£300) by the JHMT. This will really help to support my preparations for Japan and Italy this year, ensuring I'm in the best place possible to compete on a global stage. Thank you to the Trust for their support.'

Annabel Rashleigh - 18 years of age from Rothley, Leics. Annabel's heart and soul is very much set on a career in theatre. This young inspirational performer, is very focused, self-driven and has amassed so much experience in relentless pursuit of achieving her lifelong ambition in the arts.

Annabel said: "The work I am doing at Curve has already broadened my experience and given me ideas about what I can do longer term beyond the obvious idea of acting. I love my time at Curve. I have found it really rewarding to work with people from different backgrounds and experiences. The opportunity to work in such a creative, state of the art, environment, supported by industry professionals has helped me have the confidence to apply for university courses."

"The JHMT Inspire award (£300) means so much to me. It has allowed me to follow my passion for drama and continue attending rehearsals with my theatre company." added Annabel

Benjamin Freeman - 17 years of age from Hose in Leicestershire . This multi -talented young cyclist has gained a huge amount of experience in such a short time frame especially in the past three years . This has led him to pick up key cycling skills at both city and county-based cycling clubs and competing regularly in cyclocross and road cycling events. Benjamin trains for 12 to 15 hours a week all year round.

This year, his short-term goal is to gain some higher placings at the national junior series races this year. He will be joining Halesowen Junior academy team to gain vital experience in how to work as part of a cycling team in bigger races. His major goal for the year is to compete at the Junior Tour of Ireland with the team.

Benjamin said: "The INSPIRE grant (£350) from the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust will be incredibly helpful in allowing me to cover the large costs involved with the trip to Ireland and will mean I get to experience my biggest race to date which I am very grateful for."

Cordell Potter–Hayles - 14 years old from Leicester. Thisaspiring young racing driver's ultimate ambition is to become a F1 Racing driver. His immediate goal is to achieve consistent podium finishes in the Club100 Go – Karting Northern Championship and reach the A-final level. To achieve such a meteoric rise in the sport so quickly has taken many sacrifices in such a short space of time from both Cordell and his family.

Cordell said: "I'm incredibly grateful to have been awarded the Inspire grant (£350) which will allow me to increase my practice time and enter more championship rounds. This support will accelerate my development and bring me closer to achieving my professional motorsport dreams. Thank you for believing in my potential and helping to make my racing aspirations a reality

Ezra Vickers - 14 years of age and from Mountsorrel village, Leics. He is one of a growing number of multi-talented young athletes from Leicestershire who have taken up martial arts ( Karate) in recent years which has resulted in selection to represent England in international tournaments.

This year is the Wadokai International Cup to be held in Japan at the iconic Budokan arena and will feature world class karateka from all over the globe. Ezra has been selected to represent England in kumite and kata. This is an amazing achievement and a unique opportunity to compete for his country against the best in the world.

Ezra says 'The grant (£300) from JHMT is brilliant. It means I'll be able to train and compete leading up to Japan and give myself the best chance to succeed. Thanks so much!'.

Jeremy Lin - 16 years old and from Barwell, Leicestershire. Jeremy took up the sport of Powerlifting two years ago after suffering a back injury. This led to a quirk of fate when his personal trainer introduced him to the sport. His most memorable achievement to date in the sport was breaking the squat British record with his first squat at British Nationals on 30 March 2025

Like many other young people involved in sport who apply for grant support, Jeremy is dedicated to improving his performance by training hard four times a week alongside his studies.

Jeremy said: "I am extremely grateful to the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust's Inspire Awards scheme for supporting me in my aspirations to thrive within the sport I so greatly enjoy and hope that I can inspire others to try and take part in not only powerlifting but all sorts of sports that others will have a passion for. With their grant support (£300) , I am not only able to compete but also train with the suitable equipment, so that I can train safely!

Krisha Lodhiya - 15 years of age from Oadby, Leics and applied for a Inspire grant towards raising funds for a one in a lifetime expedition to Borneo with Camps International and her school, Beauchamp College . This is a four-week expedition starting at the beginning of July 2025.

Krisha said: "This once-in-a-lifetime experience will enhance my personal growth, resilience, and cultural awareness. The challenges I face during this expedition will strengthen my independence and adaptability, valuable skills that will benefit me in my future studies and career. Furthermore, this journey will ignite a passion for global citizenship and environmental responsibility that I will carry forward throughout my life."

"Thanks to JHMT Inspire for helping me with a grant (£350) towards my mission to make a meaningful contributions while savouring the beauty of the world around me." added Krisha .

Henry Fowler - 17 years old from Melton Mowbray. This talented martial arts specialist has had a meteoric rise over the past 15 months have taken up Kyokushin ( a style of karate originating in Japan) at a local Karate club in Melton Mowbray .

He's since been selected to represent the GB team at major international tournaments throughout 2025. First of all having competed in Germany, May 2025 in the 7th IFK World Tournament and the Welsh Open in June. Further competitions in the later part of the year include, the British Open in October along with the BKG Tournament in November.

This is a HUGE achievement against a backdrop of hours of practise at home as well as his club, and four to five days gym work alongside studying three A levels in Sports, Psychology and Business Studies at Melton Vale. In addition, Henry is also carer for his mum.

Henry said: "JHMT providing a grant (£350) means the world to me as it means I can compete in the World Championships with the GB team and enter a few other upcoming tournaments - I am so grateful."

Morris Mabe - 15 years old from Rothley, Leics is yet another talented young road and track cyclist from Leicestershire. Through sheer hard work and dedication has resulted in Morris being selected to be part of British Cycling's Regional School of Racing programme and actively competing in the National Youth Omnium Series (track) and National Circuit Series (road) as well as all of the local road and track race series in Leicester and the East Midlands.

Morris said: "The grant award (£300) from JHMT will help me to attend the crucial national races I have targeted on the track, to ensure my cycling kit is on point and to really help me to achieve the benchmark times and achievements that I will need to be selected. I am so grateful to the trustees for this award and I will do my best to honour the memory of Joe."

Noa Somji - 16 years of age from Leicester is another aspiring performer from the creative arts sector.

Noah said: "Musical theatre has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, from watching my first Disney movie to my first stage production, and I've loved every second. The first time I ever got to actually pursue my passion outside of my room was quite recently when I joined PQA Leicester when I was around 15. While I have left now, I can honestly say it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. After being in love with performance for so long, being able to actually do it and realise that I'm good at what I want to do was an amazing thing, I hope everyone gets to experience the joy of being able to do what they love in life. Everyone deserves the chance to fly!

"I personally am using my Inspire grant to pay for my singing lessons, something I've wanted for so long now and I'm so excited to start! I will be learning with Leicester Vocal Tech and am really excited to share my journey on here!"

Oliver Peel - 17 years of age and from Leicester took up the sport of Dodgeball only two years ago playing for Leicester Jaguars/East Midlands Dodgeball. He recently attended and was successful at national trials to represent England U18s at the first junior Euros being held in Zaragoza, Spain this summer.

Oliver said: "I not only concentrate on my own development, but I also coach and support younger players at East Midlands dodgeball where I coach weekly. I hope to inspire those juniors to one day follow a similar path. For my role I was nominated for British dodgeball coach of the year 2025 and made the final five shortlisted.

"I would like to thank the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust for supporting me in my journey. Dodgeball development particularly in juniors is in its infancy and therefore self-funded. So this support of a Inspire grant (£250) is invaluable for kit, equipment and travel expenses. I hope to continue to enjoy dodgeball and encourage other youngsters to enjoy it too."

Robyn Jarvis - 19 years old and from Burton on the Wolds, Leicestershire. Robyn is on the British Shooting Target Sprint Development Pathway. Target sprint is similar to biathlon. It is a combination of running and 10m air rifle target shooting. The course consists of three 400 metres runs with a round of shooting at 5 knockdown targets in between each run. It is fast and fun.

The level off dedication and practise required is summed up by Robyn as follows: " For Target Sprint I need to train for the two different sports and also train to combine the two. In a week I do some 5-8km runs and also some short hill sprints, 400m sessions and a full race run through. I aim to practice my shooting daily. At the weekends I do a long cycle ride to increase my endurance and I also still swim whenever I can. This training takes at least 10 hours a week.

"I am also really grateful to have been given an JHMT Inspire award (£300) which will enable me to purchase my own knockdown target box so that I will be able to train with the proper equipment daily." added Robyn

Tilly Humphreys - 13 years old and from Leicester. Tilly is home educated and despite having to cope with some major health challenges, has found music as a great therapy to help channels her energies into something very positive. The result of maintaining such positive outlook on life has led her to becoming a member musical theatre group at the Curve theatre in Leicester. Despite a number of close calls on a couple of auditions and acknowledged for having a great voice, she is very keen to extend her musical skills by learning to play the bass guitar and write more of her own songs.

Tilly said: "I am really grateful to have been given an JHMT Inspire award (£350) which will enable me to purchase my own knockdown target box so that I will be able to train with the proper equipment daily."

In addition, both Darcie Platts (swimmer) and Eva Joan- Leavis (multidisciplinary cyclist) also benefited from a second Inspire grant to help them in their respective sports.

Steve Humphries, Joe's dad and chair of JHMT said: "The award of 17 Inspire grants during the summer has once again shone a light on the diverse range of talents and interests pursued by many talented young people from across the city and county. Though their interests may differ, they all have demonstrated similar personal traits in the way they overcome personal challenges by possessing an indomitable spirit, and inner drive to achieving their personal goals, no matters what it takes, whether it's through sport, music, community and the arts. They are all truly outstanding role models and so deserving of an Inspire grant award to help them along the way. Once again, we are so pleased that as part of Joe's legacy the grants are making such a difference and are gratefully received."

To find out more about the JHMT and the Inspire Awards, visit www.jhmt.org.uk and www.jhmt.org.uk/inspire