Transforming personal loss into lasting social impact.
Some ideas begin with a business plan. Others begin with a life-changing experience.
For Jane Dixon, the inspiration behind The Bereavement Café CIC came from one of the most difficult periods of her life. Following the loss of her husband, Steve, Jane experienced first-hand the loneliness, confusion and isolation that grief can bring. While support services existed, she recognised that many people simply needed somewhere they could sit, talk, listen and realise they were not alone.
What began as a deeply personal response to loss soon became something much bigger.
Jane founded The Bereavement Café CIC to create safe, welcoming spaces where people could come together without judgement or expectation. There was no pressure to speak, no requirement to follow a programme and no expectation that grief had to fit a timetable. Instead, people found understanding, compassion and the reassurance that someone else had walked a similar path.
As the community grew, so did Jane’s vision.
What started as a local initiative has developed into an award-winning social enterprise supporting people across Bolton, Wigan and beyond. Today, The Bereavement Café delivers peer support cafés, bereavement awareness training for workplaces and schools, youth bereavement programmes and educational initiatives that are helping to change the way communities understand and respond to grief.
Jane’s work has shown that grief is not something to be fixed. It is something to be understood, acknowledged and shared. Through her leadership, thousands of people have found comfort, connection and hope at a time when they needed it most.
It was at this important stage in her journey that Jane became a recipient of the Stacey’s Stepping Stone Award.
The award recognised not only what Jane had already achieved, but the potential for her work to reach even more people. The financial support enabled her to continue developing the organisation, while a year of mentoring provided practical guidance, encouragement and the confidence to navigate the next stage of growth. Like every recipient, Jane became part of a wider community of women who believe that sharing knowledge, opening doors and supporting one another is fundamental to creating lasting change.
The impact of that investment continues to be felt today. Every new Bereavement Café, every family supported, every workplace better equipped to understand grief and every conversation that helps someone feel less alone is a reminder that one person’s lived experience can become a force for positive social change.
Women’s Economic Agency in Action
Jane’s story reminds us that Women’s Economic Agency is not measured solely by commercial success. It is equally about recognising a need, having the courage to respond to it and building something that creates lasting value for others.
Jane transformed one of life’s greatest personal challenges into an organisation that strengthens communities, supports families and changes lives. She did not simply create a social enterprise; she created a movement built on empathy, dignity and human connection. Her journey also reminds us that women achieve extraordinary things when talent is matched with belief. Through the support of the Stacey’s Stepping Stone Award, the encouragement of its sponsor, Jackie Hyde, the guidance of mentor Jenny Matthews, and Jane’s own determination, an idea born from personal loss has become an organisation whose impact continues to grow year after year.
The true measure of Women’s Economic Agency is not simply the opportunities created for one woman. It is the opportunities, confidence and hope she creates for countless others.
That is Women’s Economic Agency in Action.
