Meghan Markle Volunteers and Brings Lunch to Teens Affected By California Wildfires

Over the weekend, Meghan Markle postponed the premiere of her modern Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, to March so she and husband Prince Harry can focus on supporting the communities near their Santa Barbara home affected by recent wildfires. On Monday, the duchess continued her wildfire relief work with a visit to a group of teenage girls in Altadena who began organizing after their homes and schools burned down in the Eaton Fire last week.

The Instagram account where the girls have been fundraising and documenting their recovery work, @altadenagirls, shared a video that showed glimpses of Meghan as she helped organize an influx of donations. Vanity Fair can confirm that Meghan volunteered her time with the girls on Monday, bringing modern clothes, beauty products, and lunch, donations facilitated through the Archewell Foundation she shares with Harry.

The visit came shortly after Meghan and Harry’s January 10 visit to the Pasadena City Center with Mayor Victor Gordo, where they spoke to locals who had been forced to evacuate due to the Eaton Fire. During their time in Pasadena, which is about 2 hours away from their home in Montecito, Harry even went out of his way to find a doughnut for a bedridden elderly man.

Gordo later told the Pasadena Star-Times that their visits improved morale for providing relief in the aftermath of the fires. “They really buoyed the spirits of the first responders,” the mayor said. “We visited the command post at the Rose Bowl, and people were very happy to see them.”

Though some criticized the couple online for being “disaster tourists,” a source explained their motivations to get involved in comments to Page Six. “Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles so this is, and always will be, home to her,” the source said. “Her heart is completely broken for all the lives that have been lost and for those whose homes have been destroyed in these fires.”