Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Make Plans to Start a New Charity Foundation

An official press release recently announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan to split from the joint charity venture of The Royal Foundation, shared with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Instead, they intend on opening their own, separate charity foundation.

 

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Today in the UK, a critical new 24/7 text helpline has launched – @giveusashoutinsta This free text messaging helpline is a private, silent and trusted way, for those experiencing mental health challenges to find a safe space to seek help and support. This is an extension of the @heads_together initiative backed by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Earlier last year, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex began supporting this vital program behind the scenes by hosting a meeting at Kensington Palace with contributors and partners. Last November, Their Royal Highnesses also made a surprise visit to meet with a group of Shout volunteers, and participated in a panel with mental health activist @bryonygordon hearing firsthand how the volunteers have found making the connection with vulnerable texters, a majority of whom are under 25, so rewarding – helping to get them through a moment of crisis to a calmer place, and giving them courage to find longer-term support. Powered by a team of trained volunteers, Shout has already quietly enlisted and trained 1,000 volunteers over the last 12 months, whom in turn have helped 60,000 people. SHOUT is modeled on @crisistextline in the US, which since 2013 has processed more than 100 million messages, Shout is the largest initiative of The Royal Foundation to date, in partnership with @heads_together. Tapping into the UK’s volunteer community, Shout aims to recruit 3,000 additional volunteers by the end of the year. Mobilizing a volunteer community with this innovative use of technology will go a long way in helping people get the critical help they need, often in the darkest of times, when those are privately and silently suffering and afraid to seek help. To sign up to volunteer, visit www.giveusashout.org Be the change you wish to see in the world.

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on May 10, 2019 at 2:39am PDT

Kensington Palace made an official announcement that “Later this year The Royal Foundation will become the principal charitable and philanthropic vehicle for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.” It went on to say that “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will establish their own new charitable foundation with transitional operating support from The Royal Foundation. In addition both couples will continue to work together on projects in the future, including on The Foundation’s mental health program, Heads Together.”

The statement clarified that the purpose of this move is to “complement the work and responsibilities of Their Royal Highnesses as they prepare for their future roles, and to better align their charitable activity with their new households.” The “fab four” has done incredible things for the planet, especially in regard to mental health awareness and support, human rights, and environmental activism.

 

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the US and May 13-19 is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. To pay tribute to all of the incredible work people across the globe are doing in this space, we are hoping to shine a light on several Instagram accounts that promote mental well-being, mental fitness, body positivity, self-care, and the importance of human connection – to not just hear each other, but to listen. There are countless organisations doing amazing work for mental health – please consider the accounts we’ve highlighted as a small snapshot of this global support network. We are all in this together. We invite you to explore the extraordinary stories of strength, and the commitment to kindness as seen in the above accounts. Each month we will honour this same concept and change the accounts we solely follow based on a different theme or cause. Please go to our homepage and click “following” to see each of the select accounts and find out more about their work. Please note: Images shared are from some of the handles we are now following

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Apr 30, 2019 at 3:47pm PDT

The decision to go separate ways with their charitable and philanthropic foundations is intended as a move to expand efficiency and action, rather than a decision to split.

Prince Harry is currently working with Oprah Winfrey on a new documentary series about mental health, as co-creators and Executive Producers, set to release on Apple in 2020.