In 2021-22, the Juno Beach Centre Association (JBCA) received a $119,500 Resilient Communities Fund grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to assist in its recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. The JBCA’s educational programs and the fundraising efforts that underline them were particularly affected.
The grant enabled the JBCA to complete a digital educational resource, Who Tells the Story of Dieppe, in June 2022, in time for the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid on August 19th. This educational resource is based on the Juno Beach Centre’s latest temporary exhibition, From Dieppe to Juno: the 80th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, showing until December 31, 2023.
“The Juno Beach Centre plays a vital role in commemorating Canadians who served during the Second World War,” said Natalie Pierre, MPP for Burlington. “On the 80th anniversary of Dieppe, we remember the sacrifices and hardships of Canadian soldiers and their families,” said Natalie Pierre, MPP for Burlington. “I am pleased that the Juno Beach Centre Association has received this grant to help support this piece of history by expanding educational programming, fundraising initiatives and staffing solutions.”
The Dieppe Raid was Canada’s darkest day of the Second World War. Soldiers from Ontario suffered heavy casualties, with these losses being felt across the province in the weeks, years, and decades that followed.
“Without the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, we could not have brought this exhibition to Ontario and Canadian audiences,” said Alexander Fitzgerald-Black, Executive Director of the Juno Beach Centre Association. “The centrepiece of the online resource is a short documentary video entitled The Lasting Legacy of Dieppe. The film was produced with OTF funds and examines the consequences of the raid in the immediate aftermath and the years since.”
Who Tells the Story of Dieppe? explores how the events and purpose of the Dieppe Raid change based on who is telling the story. Whether it’s military propaganda, testimonies from veterans, or contemporary memorials, representations of the raid are defined by those who are presenting it. This line of inquiry is at the centre of the accompanying 4-lesson education package designed by Ian Duncan, an award-winning history teacher from Oakville, Ontario. Please visit the resource on the website at: https://www.junobeach.org/dieppe/the-dieppe-raid/
The Resilient Communities Fund allowed the JBCA to hire a fundraising coordinator and fundraising consultant to help redesign its fundraising strategy. This expert advice and additional human resources allowed the JBCA to redesign its donor relations procedures, develop corporate prospect lists, and prepare a strategy for the next capital campaign.
The grant also assisted the Juno Beach Centre Association in providing its staff with support for working remotely, including the purchase of business laptops and productivity software.
ABOUT THE JUNO BEACH CENTRE
The Juno Beach Centre was established in 2003 as a permanent memorial to all Canadians who were part of the Allied victory in the Second World War, and to preserve this legacy for future generations through education. The Centre in Normandy, France, pays homage to the nearly 45,000 Canadians who died during the War, of which 5,500 were killed during the Battle of Normandy and 381 on D-Day. Nearly two decades and more than 1,000,000 visitors later, the Centre has been designated a site of national historic significance to Canada. It is owned and operated by the Juno Beach Centre Association, a charitable organization based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. To learn more, please visit www.junobeach.org.
