Meghan Markle donates coffee money to charity workers fighting for paid parental leave in the US
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, donated $25 Starbucks gift cards to the PL+US staff (Paid Leave US).
The 40-year-old former “Suits” actress has been advocating for universal paid leave in the United States, and it was revealed this week that the royal couple gifted coffee to employees of the Archewell Foundation, which has set the goal of achieving universal paid family and sick leave in America by 2022.
Neil Sroka, PL+US’s communications director, thanked Meghan on Twitter with a screenshot of the digital gift card.
“The Duchess of Sussex (a.k.a. #MeghanMarkle) bought a few cups of coffee for everyone at @PaidLeaveUS while we work overtime to #SavePaidLeave,” he wrote. Unbelievably refined… and indispensable. I am truly honoured to know she is fighting for #PaidLeaveForAll (sic).”
On the voucher, there was a note that read, “Hello there, Just a little something to get you through the day. We appreciate everything you do. Archewell.”
Meghan wrote an open letter to Congress last month, pleading for universal paid leave and emphasising how the Covid-19 pandemic has “exposed long-existing fault lines in our communities.”
The mother-of-two – who shares two-year-old Archie and four-month-old Lilibet with the 37-year-old prince – wrote: “I am not an elected official or a politician.” As many others, I am an active citizen and a parent.
“Over the last two decades, the pandemic has brought to light long-hidden fault lines in our communities. Millions of women dropped out of the workforce at an alarming rate, staying at home with their children as schools and daycares closed and caring for loved ones full-time. The working mum or parent is torn between being present and being compensated. Both come at a high price.”
Meghan, who revealed she was fed “on the $4.99 salad bar at Sizzler” as a child due to her family’s financial constraints, continued: “Paid leave should be a national right, not a patchwork option available only to those whose employers have policies in place or who live in one of the few states with a leave programme.”
“If we are to usher in a new era of family-first policies, let us ensure that it includes a robust paid leave programme that is guaranteed, accessible, and encouraged without stigma or penalty for every American.”
