- Cafes encouraged to sign up for Coffee for Molly to share resources about mental health conversations
- Molly Rose Foundation targets Brighton Marathon weekend as it has runners raising money for the charity
Brighton coffee shops are being asked to help start conversations about mental health during Brighton Marathon weekend next year.
The Coffee for Molly initiative, run by Molly Rose Foundation, places resources in coffee shops to encourage customers to talk about mental health.
Molly Rose Foundation was set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell from Harrow who died after being exposed to harmful content on social media.
It is holding Coffee for Molly in Brighton as it already has six runners in the marathon on April 6th, raising money for the suicide prevention charity.
It will be the second year running that the campaign has been held on Brighton Marathon weekend.
Jon Peterman from Molly Rose Foundation said: “Molly brought joy to friends and family by always offering to make a nice coffee when we visited.
“So we decided to use her love of coffee to help people talk about mental health and hopefully take the weight off someone’s shoulders or even save a life.
“We love Brighton and its coffee shop culture so we’d really like more coffee shops to sign up so we can build on the success of this year.”
Eliza Turner, 23, from Tooting, is running her first marathon for Molly Rose Foundation in Brighton.
Eliza said: “It is a personal goal of mine to run a marathon so I thought 2025, why not? From park runs to running a marathon, I have a long way to go – but I am determined!
“I used to visit Brighton on holiday a lot and heard the course is pretty flat so it makes sense to run this one for me.
“Brighton has so many coffee shops and it’s a great cause to educate young people and let them know they can share concerns. Coffee for Molly is a brilliant idea.”
It is free for coffee shops to sign up and they will be stocked with Where to Find Help cards, conversation starter menus and coffee cup sleeves all making the public aware of Molly Rose Foundation and the importance of taking time to talk
If you own or know of a coffee shop that would like to get involved please email hello@mollyrosefoundation.org.
To sign up to run the Brighton Marathon or 10k for Molly Rose Foundation please visit our website.
To donate to Eliza’s fundraising effort, click here.
If you’re struggling just text MRF to 85258 so you can speak to a trained volunteer from Shout, the UK’s Crisis Text Line service
