Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have reached out to local knitwear social enterprise Make Give Live requesting to buy 100 handmade woollen hats for Kiwi children in need on behalf of their young son Archie.

Make Give Live founder Claire Conza says the letter from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that arrived a few days before Christmas was a wonderful gift for the organisation.

As Make Give Live operates on a buy one, give one model, this will allow the group to make an extra 200 hats to distribute to families in need next winter through the various charities it supports.

It’s not the first time this year that the royal couple have supported Make Give Live – on New Year’s day they shared a photo of baby Archie wearing a Make Give Live Cocobear hat with their 10 million followers. The cute shot of Archie rugged up against the cold and being held by his father during the family’s trip to Canada last Christmas inspired thousands of orders from around the world.

Demand for the hats have continued throughout the year and the sales have created an opportunity to support even more Kiwis through a tough 2020.

“I recently posted a message on social media asking how me could get a card to them sharing how grateful we were to Harry and Meghan for shining a light on the work we do. The publicity has enabled us to grow our impact massively and our message has reached all corners of the globe. This year we have donated over 3500 hats to people in need,” Conza says.

She did send a Christmas card to the Sussex family but the letter from the Duke and Duchess suggests New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern may have played a part in ensuring the message got to the couple.

“It said Jacinda Ardern had let them know we were trying to get in touch and that Archie continues to wear our beanies as they have one in every size.”

The couple indicated they would like to buy 100 hats on behalf of Archie for his Kiwis friends in need. They hoped the purchase would support Make Give Live to keep its knitting circles going as a place were members can talk, connect and support one another, as well as enjoy making more hats for children in New Zealand.

Make Give Live is a community-based enterprise that aims to ease isolation and improve mental health and wellbeing through the therapies of social connection and therapeutic making with purpose, with one donated to charity for every one sold. It currently has 11 groups around New Zealand. Find out more about Make Give Live and check out the product range at www.makegivelive.com.

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