Royal birthday: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announce a new charity
The Duchess of Sussex is now turning forty years old! She’s celebrating the special occasion by announcing her new charity endeavor: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have founded a new initiative that focuses on women struggling to reenter the workforce amidst the pandemic.
As the royal family privately celebrates Meghan Markle’s fortieth birthday, the duchess has also released a video to announce the latest initiative to support women around the world. The Royal Duchess of Sussex calls for help in supporting & mentoring women looking to regain their careers and adapt to a new workforce.
The 40×40 initiative by Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have decided to raise awareness of the millions of women all over the world who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic. Either by losing their job or quitting in order to care for their family, nearly 2 million women in the United States have been forced to leave the workforce during the global pandemic.
The 40×40 initiative works with the Archwell Foundation’s continuing call for Compassion in Action. The new charity encourages everyone to contribute forty minutes of their time to supporting or mentoring women who have been negatively affected by the pandemic and looking to reenter the workforce.
Meghan Markle asks everyone, including forty of the most renowned activists, artists, athletes, and world leaders to contribute to 40×40. The royal duchess list of influential invitees includes Adele, Amanda Gorman, Amanda Nguyen, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Gloria Steinem, José Andrés, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, and Stella McCartney.
Royal Duchess’s open letter
In a public message about the charitable forty-minute initiative, Meghan Markle wrote, “In reflecting on my 40th birthday and the many things I am grateful for, I’m struck that TIME IS AMONG OUR GREATEST AND MOST ESSENTIAL GIFTS: Time with our loved ones, time doing the things we love, time spent learning, laughing, growing, and the sacred time we have on this earth.”
She then added: “Amongst the most valuable gifts of time is also time spent in service to others knowing that it can contribute to incredible change. To that last point, and with my 40th lap around the sun in mind, it made me wonder: what would happen if we all committed 40 minutes to helping someone else or to mentoring someone in need? And then what would happen if we asked our friends to do the same?”
The Duchess continued, “I believe mentorship is one way to help women regain confidence and rebuild their economic strength, and for my birthday, I have asked 40 friends, activists, athletes, artists, and world leaders to help kickoff a global effort by contributing 40 MINUTES OF MENTORSHIP to support women re-entering the workforce.”
Meghan Markle concluded the open letter writing, “With this time, I hope they each help someone advance a professional life on her own terms, and, I hope that they inspire countless others to give 40 minutes of their time as well.”
Partnering with Meghan Markle
The British-based charity SmartWorks and three other organizations have decided to partner with Meghan Markle’s 40×40 initiative. Smart Works is a charity that mentors unemployed women and helps prepare them for upcoming interviews. Smart Works tweeted, “The Duchess of Sussex has personally dedicated many hours to supporting and mentoring Smart Works’ clients ahead of their job interviews.”
The YWCA also joined Markle and Prince Harry and tweeted, “We look forward to playing a small part in bringing this initiative to life for the women we exist to help.” The YWCA is a charity dedicated to abolishing racism, empowering women, and promoting justice. Additionally, the volunteer center LA Works has also joined as partners with the 40×40 initiative.
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What do you think about the Duchess of Sussex’s birthday announcement? Will you support Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s latest initiative? Let us know in the comments below!
