Meghan and Harry get hugs at school
NEW YORK >> Meghan and Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, offered lots of hugs to kids on Friday at a Harlem public school, where she read her children’s book, “The Bench,” to about two dozen students who sat cross-legged with her husband in the play yard.
The hourlong visit to PS 123, also known as the Mahalia Jackson school, which serves as a shelter for families without permanent homes, was one of several stops so far in a whirlwind New York week for the two. A couple of the children shed tears when they met the pair under a white tent set up near the school’s play structure.
The couple, students and staff, joined by New York City Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter, wore masks during their time together.
Harry and Meghan donated two garden boxes filled with vegetables and herbs to the school. Through their Archewell Foundation, in partnership with Procter & Gamble, they also stocked the school’s pantry with personal health and hygiene supplies. They plan to donate a washer and dryer to the school as well, so more children can have clean uniforms.
The couple, in partnership with the World Health Organization, gathered a key group of NGOs, executives, experts, public health officials and world leaders Thursday for a dialogue on achieving shared global COVID-19 vaccine equity goals.
The school, supported in part by the youth and family nonprofit Graham Windham, serves children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
Meghan donated copies of her book, published by Random House, to the school, and the students presented Meghan with paper hearts of pink and white with drawings and messages to conclude the visit.
“Being able to meet her was like a chance of a lifetime,” art teacher James Reynolds said. “Everybody was really excited.”
And those tears from some of the students?
“I think (it was) gratitude because we have been through a lot in the last 18 months. We’re sensitive in ways that we probably weren’t on the other side of this,” he said, referring to the pandemic. “I think they were just eternally grateful that she took time to stop by.”