Brighton's Louis Michael from Gogglebox will perform the opening ceremony when the Dr Hadwen Trust launch their vegan charity shop in Hove.

The Dr Hadwen Trust (DHT) is the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity. The DHT made history last year by opening their first vegan charity shop in Hertfordshire.

Said the DHT’s Science Director, Dr Brett Cochrane: “In addition to helping raise awareness and funds to support our work, our shops have environmental benefits through recycling and reselling preloved goods. They support budget shopping by offering good quality goods at low prices. They also have ethical benefits as no animal products are used or sold in our shops. And, they allow us to offer volunteering opportunities and work experience.”

The charity has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the fitting of the shop: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-make-history-in-hove Supporters are being invited to pledge anything from £1 which will buy 10 coat hangers to £1,000 which rewards the pledger with a VIP invitation to the shop opening and a hug from Jade, the shop manager.
Said Dr Cochrane: “We are asking people to make history in Hove by supporting the opening of our second vegan charity shop. Crowdfunding will help to off-set the costs of setting up the shop to allow more funds to go towards funding cruelty-free, human relevant research. Setting up a shop is expensive, but our first shop has proved that the Hove shop will help raise awareness, and much needed funds to support animal free research.”

“We chose Hove because Brighton & Hove is home to a high proportion of vegans, vegetarians and progressive thinkers, and we already enjoy significant support from the area.”

Louis Michael comes from Brighton. He is a vegan and supports cruelty-free research. He will perform the official opening ceremony of the shop at 69 George Street at 1:00 pm on Saturday 18 February.

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NOTES TO EDITOR

1. The Dr Hadwen Trust (DHT) is the UK’s leading non-animal medical research charity. Since 1971 the DHT has awarded grants to over 200 animal free medical research projects including: cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, heart and liver disease and diabetes.
2. Over the last 5 years alone the DHT has committed to over £4.8 million worth of animal free research projects across the UK at student, PhD and post-doctoral level.
3. The Dr Hadwen Trust continues to be the UK’s leading charity provider of grants solely dedicated to animal free medical research.
4. The term vegan refers to food or materials free from any animal products: no meat, milk, eggs, honey, wool, goose down, or leather. Likewise, vegans avoid animal-derived by-products, from whey to lard to gelatine. Vegans believe that a vegan lifestyle carries at least three benefits: it avoids animal mistreatment and slaughter, it may offer certain health advantages, and it is also likely to reduce your environmental footprint.
5. For more information please contact: Gerry Reilly at: [email protected] or
01462 436819