Having reached hundreds of thousands of individuals with their mission, a Pinner-based charity is “delighted” to reflect on its impact over the last year.
In 2017, Molly Russell, a student from Pinner, died from an act of self-harm after suffering from the negative effects of online content.
Since then, her father Ian Russell MBE has been working to support mental health in people under 25. This included setting up the Molly Rose Foundation (MRF) to raise awareness for suicide prevention.
The charity shared on its website that in 2024, it distributed 184,000 Where To Find Help Cards, received a donation of £6,800 thanks to three marathon runners, and was “delighted” to have distributed 4,936 MRF-designed Bags of Happiness to secondary school pupils.
MRF hosted a joint roundtable with the Center for Countering Digital Hate and was quoted widely in response to the government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities. Ian was also awarded an MBE for his work with MRF.
Following the General Election, MRF took the opportunity to publish a General Election Manifesto spelling out five bold policies that will transform children’s online safety and wellbeing.
MRF shared a post on their Facebook page which said: “We continue to hold those in power to account whether that’s tech bosses, politicians or Ofcom… £10,000’s raised from marathons, 100km runs, schools and organisations all wanting to make a difference
“We continued to do all we can to raise awareness about mental health and the dangers of online harms… Thank you for your support this year. Remember you’re never alone.”
Earlier this month, Ian spoke to the BBC and urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, X boss Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to bolster online safety. Ian raised his concerns that the UK is “going backwards” on internet safety after Meta announced it would no longer be using independent fact checkers.
To find out more about the charity, please visit www.mollyrosefoundation.org
Photo credit: Molly Rose Foundation
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