Meghan Markle makes a difference

• Meghan Markle makes a difference at 11 years old
• Teachers have the opportunity to inspire their students
• Meghan Markle’s letters to powerful people is essentially a Who Is NOBODY? Project

Meghan Markle makes a difference by using her interests to help others. The Duchess of Sussex began her outreach work when she was just a kid. Early experiences shape us.

How Meghan Markle makes a difference

Meghan Markle is known for her role on the TV show Suits. But she is equally recognized for her work as a counselor for international charity One Young World, being an ambassador for World Vision Canada and speaking at the United Nations about gender equality and female empowerment.

Meghan Markle has used her platform as a much-loved actress to change the world.

While her more recent outreach work is done via high-profile positions, the Duchess of Sussex’s community work started alone in her room, with a pen and paper.

Meghan Markle makes a difference at age 11

After watching commercials and accessing their messages, Meghan was unhappy with a soap advert. It stated:

Women are fighting greasy pots and pans all over America…
-Ivory dish-washing liquid commercial

Rather than simply feeling unhappy, Meghan decided to take action.

I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking… mom does everything. I have to do something.
-Meghan Markle, Advocate for women’s rights

With her father, Thomas Markle’s encouragement, Meghan wrote to Hilary Clinton, Proctor and Gamble and her local news station.

The result? Meghan Markle makes a difference! Not too long after Meghan sent her letter, the commercial was updated to say: People are fighting greasy pots and pans all over America.

Meghan Markle makes a difference … and so can your students!

Meghan Markle attribute’s the outreach work she does as an adult to this experience. And studies prove the timing and quality of early experiences influence the development of brain architecture.

By investing early and well in our children’s development we increase the rate of return later in life, and in so doing improve not only the lives of individuals but of societies as well.
– National Center for Biotechnology Information

A whole community raises a child. While not all youth have a parent at home who will encourage their child to stand up for what they believe in, teachers have a unique opportunity to inspire their students to make a difference each year.

Giving young people a push to believe they can make a difference is key. Whether it’s child labour, animal rights or environmental issues, CHANGE STARTS WITH KIDS.

Who Is NOBODY? is a classroom-based program that is implemented in kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms.

It helps students discover their interests and plan an outreach project that is personally meaningful to them. Students get to build self-esteem by taking action. Then they add a 3D attachment to NOBODY, who becomes SOMEBODY that reflects all the strengths of each student in the class. Students also write a story and draw a picture to put in the class scrapbook and share their experience via literacy and the arts.

Who Is NOBODY? is easy to use because:

• it’s set up by DVD
• is self-running
• takes 5 minutes each week
• celebrates each student in a tangible way
• is reusable

Meghan Markle’s work is a Who Is NOBODY? Project

Meghan Markle made a difference by voicing her concerns and asking for change. Her community work as an 11 year old is essentially a Who Is NOBODY? Project.

If she were to add a 3D attachment to NOBODY to represent her project what could it be?

One pink and one blue dish glove?
A placard demanding women’s rights?
Or a writing instrument to show the power of the pen?

These would all make great attachments to represent how Meghan Markle used her interests to help others.

Meghan Markle makes a difference by creating awareness around inequality.

If you want to encourage your students to find a cause that’s important to them, Who Is NOBODY? helps students discover their interests and use them to change the world.

Here’s a link to a 3 minute overview of how Who Is NOBODY? works. It highlights students from K to Grade 12.

What’s your earliest memory of making a difference?

Photo Credit: By Northern Ireland Office [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons