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Duchess Meghan may have already been treated to a lavish New York City baby shower with her A-lister friends back in February, but it’s not the only baby shower that’s being thrown to celebrate the arrival of Baby Sussex.
Fans of the 37-year-old royal have come together to raise money for some of Meghan’s favourite charities as part of a virtual baby shower, spreading the word over social media platform Twitter, using the hashtag #GlobalSussexBabyShower.
The campaign, which began on Sunday 31 March and is planned to continue for the month of April, encourages people to donate to any of the charities, and the organisations are already saying they’re overwhelmed with the incredible generosity.
Meghan during her whirlwind trip to New York City for her baby shower. (Image: Getty)
The hashtag was created by Elle Harris (@freepeeper on Twitter), who worked with a small group of fans to find a meaningful way to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Meghan and Prince Harry’s first child.
The 32-year-old told BAZAAR.com, “We felt the values of compassion and kindness that the Duke and Duchess display during their engagements was being overshadowed by negativity in the press and some factions online.
“We wanted to create a space where we could talk further about their charitable endeavours and also about the Duchess’s impact.
“She is the thread that brought us together as royal watchers.”
Charities including WellChild, animal charity Mayhew of which she is patron of, and educational organisation CAMFED have all benefitted from the generous donations.
CAMFED, which campaigns for female education have said they’re “blown away” by response of the #GlobalSussexBabyShower and recently tweeted that donations so far have reached an amazing £15,000 (NZD $28,900).
“Wow! The incredible generosity of the #GlobalSussexBabyShower movement!,” the organisation tweeted.
“This is enough to support 83 girls in Africa to continue their high school #education for another year. This impact is from just 4 days, imagine how many young women we can empower by 12th May?”
Speaking to BAZAAR, executive director of CAMFED Angie Murimirwa, who sat with Meghan on the International Women’s Day in March says, “On International Women’s Day the Duchess asked others to join her, and this is a phenomenal reaction to her call to action.
“So a very big shout out to her fans for supporting her in this unique and special way!
“It affirms the power of people coming together for good. That energy and positivity is essential in these difficult times.
“Together we can!”
Meghan with the panel at the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust International Women’s Day panel. (Image: Getty)
The animal welfare charity Mayhew, which Meghan visited earlier this year have also seen a phenomenal increase of donations.
“We’ve been thrilled and delighted by the fundraising activity that’s taken place over the weekend and can’t thank everybody who has shared the #GlobalSussexBabyShower campaign and donated to Mayhew enough,” CEO Caroline Yates told BAZAAR.com.
“We are honoured to have the duchess as our Patron and experience the keen interest she has in our work.
“And we look forward to hearing the exciting baby news the Duke and Duchess shortly!”
And the generosity from the well-wishers hasn’t gone unnoticed by Kensington Palace.
An aide from the Palace told Bazaar that all the charities had been in touch to share the news with the Palace, and were hugely warmed by the fundraising efforts.
“It’s an incredibly thoughtful way to mark a special occasion.”
The positive fundraiser couldn’t come at a better time for the Duchess, who has been the subject of negative press for months, most recently via a story in Tatler magazine, which seemed to back many of the claims made by tabloid papers.
Elle Harris is both delighted and overwhelmed at how quickly the fundraiser has taken off, saying “I’m very surprised that it has gotten so big.
“In this media age, we’re used to things going viral, but I’ve never been involved in something that has.
“For it to be something the benefits worthy charities and not some silly nonsense thrills me to no end.
She hopes that the fundraiser will show that social media can be a positive space and says it serves a good reminder that we can all benefit from being kinder both online and in the real world.
