18 hours Ago
Brighton’s vibrant coffee shops will play a pivotal role in starting conversations about mental health during next year’s Brighton Marathon weekend. The Coffee for Molly initiative, spearheaded by the suicide prevention charity Molly Rose Foundation, is inviting coffee shops to participate by hosting resources that encourage meaningful discussions about mental wellbeing. The initiative is inspired by the memory of Molly Russell, a 14-year-old from Harrow who tragically lost her life after exposure to harmful online content.
Through Coffee for Molly, the foundation aims to honour Molly’s love of coffee by creating safe spaces for dialogue, reducing stigma around mental health, and potentially saving lives. The Coffee for Molly initiative (Image: Molly Rose Foundation) The 2025 campaign coincides with the Brighton Marathon on April 6, 2025, where six runners will be representing the charity to raise funds and awareness. This marks the second year the initiative aligns with the marathon weekend, highlighting the event's significance as a platform for mental health advocacy.
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.
” 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. Eliza Turner, 23, from Tooting, is running her first marathon for Molly Rose Foundation in Brighton. Eliza Turner is running her first marathon for Molly Rose Foundation (Image: Molly Rose Foundation) She 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.
“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.” For more, contact hello@mollyrosefoundation.
org.
