Royal support for social enterprise
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have donated 200 beanies through New Zealand’s Make Give Live after receiving a note from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Make Give Live co-founder Claire Conza said the social enterprise had been overwhelmed with orders since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared a photograph of their baby, Archie, wearing one of its handmade beanies in January.
Conza asked the social enterprise’s Instagram followers for a way to contact the royal couple to wish them a merry Christmas and express gratitude.
A few days before Christmas, Conza received an official letter from the royals stating that the Archewell Foundation wanted to donate 200 woollen beanies to Kiwi kids and mentioned Ardern had informed them about Make Give Live wanting to get in touch.
‘‘Jacinda Ardern follows our Instagram page and she saw our post. That was really a lovely surprise,’’ Conza said.
The company had given a beanie to Ardern after the birth of her daughter, Neve.
For every handmade beanie sold, one was donated to a charity.
Conza said this year revenue had grown more than 1000 per cent compared with last year.
A person involved with the Sussexes’ 2019 tour to New Zealand approached Make Give Live for a hat to gift to them while the duchess was pregnant with Archie.
Conza said it came as a total surprise when she saw the photo of Prince Harry holding Archie, who was wearing a different hat by Make Give Live, in January.
‘‘The next morning we were flooded with orders and saw a news article about Meghan buying two beanies in the next size up ... Sure enough there were two orders addressed to Windsor.’’
Make Give Live has given away more than 3500 beanies this year and has a few hundred more to donate next winter, Conza said.
Conza said Make Give Live would work with charities including Give a Kid a Blanket, I’ve Got Your Backpack, Lifewise and Auckland City Mission to give away the 200 beanies.
A network of 130 volunteers around the country made the hats and all profits went back into the business, she said.
Make Give Little was set up four years ago to tackle isolation and mental illness by bringing people together to knit and crochet hats. It had received growing interest to replicate the model in other parts of the world, Conza said.