Champions for Change: Power Couples With A Cause

DO COUPLES WHO GIVE TOGETHER STAY TOGETHER?

These power duos say yes! From donating to coronavirus relief efforts, to supporting equality initiatives, celebrity couples are sharing their advocacy from all over the world.

RYAN REYNOLDS AND BLAKE LIVELY ADVOCATE FOR CANADIAN COMMUNITIES

Ryan Reynolds has partnered with winter clothing brand Canada Goose to deliver parkas to Inuit schoolchildren living in the Arctic Circle.

The Canadian actor noticed that students attending Inuujaq School in Arctic Bay, Nunavut, Canada, were short of clothing supplies. He took it upon himself to speak to bosses of the parka brand to provide them with winter gear.

They then upped his donation of parkas and Baffin footwear to ensure 300 children will stay warm when they head to school.

“It came to my attention students at Inuujaq School in Arctic Bay were going without adequate winter clothing,” the Deadpool star said in a statement, reports WWD.

“Of course, it highlights a larger issue of basic needs going unmet in Canada’s northern communities. I reached out to Canada Goose to match me in providing these students with essential winter gear. They not only said yes in under 30 seconds but went so far above and beyond matching me. I’m deeply inspired and grateful.”

The firm is also partnering with Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the national representational organization for Inuit people in Canada, to donate thousands of repurposed parkas to other Arctic communities.

Gregg Durrant, principal at Inuujaq School, thanked Ryan and Canada Goose for their donations. “Living in a northern community, access to almost everything is limited, and the impact of COVID-19 has accentuated this,” he praised. “We are so appreciative of the warmth Ryan and Canada Goose have shown our students. Their gift will be remembered for years to come.”

The couple also made a significant donation to St. Francis Xavier University’s Coady Institute in Nova Scotia, Canada, for their new initiative, the Circle of Abundance, to amplify Indigenous women’s voices and leadership.

In a statement, the couple said: “We’re so happy to support the incredible work of the Coady Institute’s program with Indigenous Women. We’re blown away by the conversations we’ve had and the work they do and look forward to joining them on this journey.”

CIARA AND RUSSELL WILSON GIVE BACK IN SEATTLE

Ciara and Russell Wilson have gone above and beyond to support coronavirus relief efforts this year.

In April, the couple auctioned off a double date as part of the All In Challenge Auction, raising $240,000. They also donated a million meals to their local food bank, the Seattle Food LifeLine.

The 31-year-old NFL player said in a video shared to the couple’s social media pages: ‘’This worldwide coronavirus pandemic is changing the world second by second, minute by minute. People are losing loved ones. The elderly and the young. The people in between. You think about people losing jobs—even in Seattle. What we’ve decided to do is partner up with Seattle Food LifeLine, and we’re gonna donate a million meals and hopefully make a difference.’’

Ciara has recently declared that she will raise her children to appreciate the significance of giving back to their community. “It’s so important to us to instill the same morals that were instilled in us growing up and the same philosophy that we had growing up,” she explained, adding that “one of the greatest rewards of what we do is being blessed enough to give back.”

In that spirit, the Level Up singer has partnered with Discover on its Eat It Forward campaign to give $25,000 awards to 200 Black-owned restaurants around the U.S. amid the COVID-19 crisis.

“The black community, in particular, has been disproportionately hit (by COVID-19) and affected by the magnitude of what has unfolded,” she mused. “A lot of these restaurants are pillars in their communities. It’s hard for the families that own them when it’s their lifeline to take care of their households.”

GEORGE AND AMAL CLOONEY DONATE $1 MILLION

This humanitarian couple is always involved in philanthropic ventures. During the coronavirus crisis, George and Amal Clooney donated over $1 million to a series of charities helping those in need.

This power duo co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice, helping individuals who are unfairly targeted by oppressive governments and aiding the fight against poverty by protecting vulnerable individuals.

George Clooney also co-founded the Sentry, with partner John Prendergast. The Sentry is an investigative and policy team that follows the dirty money connected to African war criminals and global war profiteers and seeks to shut those benefiting from violence out of the international financial system. The Sentry is a strategic partner of the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

The couple gave The Motion Picture and Television Fund, the SAG-AFTRA Fund, and the Los Angeles Mayor’s Fund $250,000 each and split an additional $300,000 between the Lebanese Food Bank, the relief effort in the Lombardy region of Italy, and the National Health Service (NHS) in the U.K.

The Lebanese Food Bank was among the couple’s beneficiaries because Amal was born in Lebanon and still has ties to the country, while they both live in the U.K.

SACHA BARON COHEN AND ISLA FISHER DONATE PPE TO FRONTLINE WORKERS

Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher have sent PPE (personal protective equipment) to U.K. frontline workers tackling the COVID-19 crisis. The couple partnered with Salesforce mogul Marc Benioff to donate the supplies to the staff at Britain’s NHS (National Health Service), as the organization struggles to provide enough equipment for its employees.

On social media, Cohen shared: “Isla and I are so happy to have such persistent and generous partners in getting this done. Businesses, please follow and get PPE in through.”

The British-Australian couple have also donated $1 million to two major charities to help Syrian refugees.

Half the money donated will be used to fund vaccinations for more than 250,000 children against a potential measles outbreak in Northern Syria.

The other half will be used to help support families inside Syria and in neighbouring countries with education, health care, shelter, and sanitation.

HARRY AND MEGAN LAUNCH ARCHEWELL WEBSITE

No strangers to philanthropy, this royal team have both spent much of their lives giving back. Meghan regularly champions women’s rights initiatives, such as the Myna Mahila Foundation, and works as a Global Ambassador for World Vision. Prince Harry, having served in the Armed Forces for 10 years, advocates for servicemen and women, bringing awareness to the long-term support needed for veterans. Harry also created the Invictus Games, an international adaptive sporting event for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veteran.

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have announced their new charity, Archewell, and their focus on the coronavirus pandemic.

“Like you, our focus is on supporting efforts to tackle the global COVID-19 pandemic but faced with this information coming to light; we felt compelled to share the story of how this came to be. Before SussexRoyal, came the idea of ‘Arche’—the Greek word meaning ‘source of action.’ We connected to this concept for the charitable organization we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son’s name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters. Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon. We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right.”