Monday 10 October 2022

Harry's Moving Conversations with WellChild, A Significant Archewell Grant Collaboration, World Mental Health Day & A Jack Johnson Date Night

Hello, dear readers. I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

We have several interesting updates regarding the Sussexes to share ahead of the release of Meghan's next Archetypes podcast tomorrow. As you'll remember, the Duke and Duchess were due to attend the WellChild Awards on the day Her late Majesty passed. I knew once the mourning period ended, Harry would immediately endeavour to catch up with the winners and their families. Last week, Harry did just that and enjoyed a virtual catch-up filled with sweet moments. It continues to leave me inspired and moved to see the sheer courage and positivity from the incredibly brave children supported by WellChild. This charity means so much to Harry, he lights up during each interaction.

WellChild Chief Executive, Matt James said:

“Our remarkable winners and their families were delighted to have this additional chance to celebrate their achievements, particularly as this year’s event ran under unique circumstances. The Duke recognised the immense challenges faced by children and young people who face serious ill health with positivity, resilience, and courage and the dedication of those around them, from siblings, professionals and volunteers who have gone above and beyond to help them through such challenging times.”

The chat opened with an adorable conversation. Hello! reports:

'Winners included Henry Waines, four, who was born with serious health problems and appeared on the call with his parents Ben and Shevonne.

Told Henry had been named after him, the Duke replied: “My name is Henry. Well everyone calls me Harry. I have no idea why.”

Laughing at the little boy’s enthusiastic chatter, he told him: “You sound just like my son Archie really. The same little squeaky voice. I love it.”

Henry asked him: “How are Archie and Lilibet doing?”

The Duke told him: “They're doing great…Archie is very, very busy. And Lily is learning to use her voice, which is great.”'

Before their chat ended, Harry praised Henry's parents: "Full respect to you guys, having been part of this charity for more than a decade, I know how hard it is." And he added he would have loved to have spent time with them and Henry at the awards.

Next Harry spoke to ten-year-old Shakeerah, with whom he signed a little. Hello! reports Shakeerah is "the only known survivor of a rare bacterial brain infection acquired during treatment for a brain tumour". Shakeerah expressed her sympathies on the loss of the Queen. When he spotted her giraffe toy, Harry responded: "How long have you had that giraffe for? Because Archie’s got a giraffe as well and it’s lasted a very long time. And we call him Gerald."

Shakeerah's mum Yasmine added:

“The Duke of Sussex made us feel at ease, it was as if I was speaking with my best friend. He understood our challenges and wants to make a real difference to the lives of children and their families.

“He had learnt some words in BSL but still took on the challenge of being taught how to sign his name by a 10-year-old girl!”

Hello! reports: "Speaking to Isabelle Delaney, 13, winner of an Inspiration Young Person award, he admired her assistance dog, a Labradoodle called Hope. Harry said: 'We all need a dog that keeps us calm. I've got three in this house now, so we basically have five children. But I've got a black Labrador called Pula, a rescue beagle called Guy, and we got another rescue beagle called Mia. And between the three of them, they charge around chasing squirrels and causing all sorts of problems to us every single day. But they are also emotional support dogs, 100%, when they're behaving.'"

One little boy joked with Harry: "Will you remember me in a day, will you remember me in a month?" To which Harry smiled and replied "yes!".

Tony is "a bit of a Superhero".

During a chat with nurses, Harry said: "What these families go through, every single day, it just puts any issues that I or any of us have, it just kicks it straight to the sidelines, because they are struggling every single day. Thank the Lord that WellChild is there to support them and give them everything they need."

Back to Hello!'s story:

'He was again visibly moved as Evelyn Rodger, a Diana Children’s Nurse with Children’s Hospices Across Scotland, told him how her role had been funded “from your mum’s memorial fund,” adding: “I think your mum would be very proud of what that money has achieved. And I also think as a mum she'd be very proud of you, Harry.”

“That’s very sweet, thank you,” he replied, clearly touched'.

Truly beautiful words from Evelyn Rogers.

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Meanwhile, in very exciting news, Archewell has partnered with the VING Project -- a giving movement that empowers teens to give to others -- to invest a staggering $1 million dollars to "nominate a woman who has inspired them and defied life's hardships," to be considered for a $1,000 grant. It stems from the growing ripple effect of Archetypes and Meghan couldn't be happier to see her podcast inspire this collaboration.

"Two things that bring me great joy are supporting women, and the spirit of giving," the Duchess said. "With the return of Archetypes, Archewell Foundation and VING have come together to create the perfect combination of these loves. By donating $1 million in grants to women in need, our hope is not to only provide support where it may be felt deepest, but also empower young adults to embrace the gift of giving at an early age. I'm very proud of this partnership and the good we hope to see come from it." Information on nominating women for the grants can be found here.

And just as I was writing this post, Archewell announced they are marking World Mental Health Day by partnering with Project Healthy Minds. If an episode of Archetypes brought up certain feelings, there's a resource guide that's an excellent place to start. Click here to find out more.

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Harry and Meghan enjoyed a date night at a Jack Johnson concert.

Supporting artist Thunderstorm Artis had a little backstage gossip :)

And of course, the obligatory selfie :)

The couple also spent time with Hawaiian performer Paula Fuga.

Last but not least, a bit of blog housekeeping: Blogger disabled the 'Follow By Email' option disabling the feed. I've now signed up to Follow.it for this service. If you would like to sign up to receive updates please enter your email address below. You will receive an email from Follow.it very quickly (keep an eye on your spam folder if you don't receive it) to activate your subscription.

I'll see you tomorrow for Archetypes!

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3 comments:

  1. Allison in US11 October 2022 at 15:54

    I love that Henry spoke with all the children. Very nice of him to make up to the children their missed meeting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11 October 2022 at 20:22

    The best relatable royal..... Harry possess this lovely quality to connect with others easily

    ReplyDelete

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