Meghan Markle donated her own clothes to those in need during the LA wildfires, a charity founder has said.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, has been hit with various criticisms over recent weeks, including harsh claims that her volunteering work in California amid the horrific wildfires was for publicity.
This was shortly followed by a damning Vanity Fair article where Meghan was accused of mistreating past employees.
The claims have reportedly been distressing for the duchess and Prince Harry, who have not publicly commented on them.
While the duchess may be having a hard time, a charity founder who saw Meghan’s work first-hand during the worst of the Californian wildfires has come to her defence, saying that the duchess even went as far as bringing clothes in from her own closet to help those in need.
Avery Colvert, 14, founded her charity Altadena Girls in January shortly after the wildfires began, and aimed to create a safe space where fellow teenage girls who had lost their possessions in the wildfires could go to stock up on clothes, make up and toiletries.
Her initiative was quickly supported by a number of people including Meghan, who spent a day with the charity.
It is believed the duchess, who was “excited” to help, was there for many hours, donated her own clothes and even got “stylist training” so she could help the teenagers pick out outfits, as reported by Marie Claire.
The 14-year-old founder told the publication: “Meghan is so incredibly kind. For all the girls that were coming in, they got to be styled by Meghan Markle.”
It was also reported that the duchess helped people carry out bags of supplies to their cars, with the Archewell Foundation still supporting the charity to this day, Avery’s stepdad Matt Chait confirmed.
Speaking about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation, he told Marie Claire that they helped the charity to secure a permanent space to operate from, and continue to offer support to this day.
The positive praise for Meghan comes after the duchess and Prince Harry, 40, were branded “disaster tourists” by Hollywood actress Justine Bateman after they visited an evacuation site in LA.
The couple reportedly found these claims “offensive” but have not publicly commented on the criticisms made against them.
