Throughout May for the past two years, Tasmanian-based charity Speak Up! Stay ChatTY has partnered with Banjo’s bakeries nationwide to help prevent mental health issues. 

From every large coffee, the bakery will donate 50 cents to the charity. 

Last week, St.Lukes Health pledged $1000 for the charity. The organisation’s chief executive Paul Lupo said it made sense to support the charity. 

“[The charity] gets into the preventative side of things. We want to not just be assistance to our customers when they need medical help, but to help them before it gets to that stage,” Mr Lupo said. 

The health fund’s partnership with the charity started in 2016, when founder Mitch McPherson won the organisation’s category at the Tasmanian Young Achiever Awards. 

“We were amazed by the work Mitch was doing and were just compelled to help him and have been supporting him ever since,” Mr Lupo said. “We want to assist our customers to stay healthy and be better. With Mitch, our ability to reach out in a preventative way with his programs has been helpful.”

Mr McPherson said St.Lukes Health came on board when he was running the charity by himself. 

“They really believed in what I was doing and what I was aiming to do,” he said. 

“Financial support when you’re starting an organisation is really important and that’s where the financial contribution started.

“It allowed me to not be so stuck behind a desk, but to be out there and presenting more to spread the message of Stay ChatTY.”

He said all 38 Banjo’s stores across Australia took part in coffee month. In three years, more than $100,000 has been raised for the charity. 

“The money is amazing, but the awareness for the month is huge. For us to be in stores and major cafes outside of Tassie is really special,” Mr McPherson said.

The money from St.Lukes and Banjo’s will be used to fund the charity’s sport program. 

The program sees SPEAK UP! Stay ChatTY work with the Alcohol and Drug Foundation’s Good Sports Program to deliver mental health literacy training to clubs across Tasmania. The workshops aim to help participants understand mental health, recognise signs and symptoms, seek help, and help out a team mate.

“We piloted it this year and have been able to employ James [Rice],” he said. 

The former AFL star started the charity after his little brother Tye took his own life.