The Jane Dillon Bursary
The Jane Dillon Bursary will enables an individual or family dealing with trauma to benefit from a six week-long equine therapy course delivered by The Seeds of Change. Find out more and how to apply.
-
To celebrate 15 years of helping young people and families to cope with major challenges in their lives, The Seeds of Change is launching an extremely personal initiative – The Jane Dillon Bursary.
The Jane Dillon Bursary will enable an individual or family dealing with trauma to benefit from a six week-long equine therapy course delivered from The Seeds of Change’s 17 acre outdoor learning environment – The Acorn Centre - in Walgrave, Northamptonshire. Each programme will be designed specifically to support the mental, physical and emotional needs of the successful applicant and will be carried out by Katherine Dillon, Co-Founder and Director of The Seeds of Change, who has more than 20 years of expertise working in the field of equine therapy and is the beloved sister of Jane Dillon, to whom the bursary honours.
Jane Dillon was only days away from her 16th birthday when she tragically lost her life as the result of a childhood cancer. Older sister to Katherine, Jane always loved being outdoors enjoying the fresh air and lived in the village of Walgrave in Northamptonshire for most of her childhood.
The trauma for Jane and her family, before, during and after her illness had a broad impact on them as they struggled to come to terms with Jane’s death. Katherine, herself, was eventually diagnosed with post trauma as the impact of losing her sister at the age of nine took hold. Missing lots of her time in school due to illness, Katherine was introduced to horses and from that point on the healing process started.
In 2011 The Seeds of Change opened the doors to the Acorn Centre at Walgrave which was built and named in memory of Jane - a centre to help support children and families who are affected by all kinds of trauma and life-challenges. To date, several thousand children have been able to benefit from the work of this amazing and unique organisation, which uses horses to support them to progress within their lives with strategies that help them to cope with or overcome their traumatic experiences.
Katherine Dillon, Director of The Seeds of Change and Founder of The Jane Dillon Bursary, said: “Trauma and its long-term effects can be life-debilitating. My desire to help those experiencing grief, loss and trauma in their lives, burns as deeply within me as it ever did. My hope is that The Jane Dillon Bursary will not only offer a small beacon of hope to some of the many families or individuals facing huge challenges in their lives, but, also, that it will keep Jane’s light burning bright.”
The application process for the January course is now closed. The next opportunity to apply for the Bursary will be advertised in the New Year on our website and in our newsletter – subscribe for our latest news here
“The Seeds of Change is invaluable to my daughter, she is thriving and happy. Her confidence and independence has grown as well as the enjoyment of being in a learning environment. She has formed friendships and it’s given her access to gain educational experiences and qualifications which she really enjoys. It has made a real positive difference to my daughter and our family. Thank you.” Read more
Parent of Learner“The Seeds of Change staff team demonstrate professionalism, creativity and an understanding of the complex needs of our students. They have consistently planned and delivered sessions and activities with our students to enable them to develop and achieve academically, personally and socially.” Read more
M Phillips, Head of 6th Form/Post 16, External Provision & CIAG“When I first came to The Seeds of Change, I was very anxious and not confident at all I would refuse to take part in tasks and would always want to go home. After about a year or two I started to take part in all tasks and barely refused to do anything … I have been able to grow as a person and work on my anxiety and confidence … I’m very grateful for them helping me become the person I am today.” Read more
‘The Seeds of Change’ Learner
The Seeds of Change Wellbeing Days – Easter 2022
Over the Easter break, The Seeds of Change took time out from working with young people to focus on adults and their wellbeing. Our Wellbeing Day invited a group of adults to our beautiful rural … Read more...

TSOC Covid Procedure February 2022
February 22, 2022In line with the announced plans by the government to suspend covid testing and self isolation from Thursday 24th February, The Seeds of Change will no longer require students attending our provision to test or … Read more...

Join our team! Calling all aspiring Equine Coaches / Therapists
January 15, 2022Do you love horses and helping others to achieve their potential? Would you like to spend your days outside working with a dedicated enthusiastic team? Then why not consider a career in Equine Therapy. We … Read more...