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| | Duchess Meghan offered 'really consequential support' to the Altadena Girls | | Added 51 minutes ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Last month, Southern California was devastated by widespread wildfires. Densely populated areas like Pasadena and Altadena were very heavily damaged and thousands of people?s lives have been radically altered. Amid the chaos of the fires, a group of teenage girls in Altadena decided to put together what they hoped would be a week-long pop-up ?shop? where teens could come in and get some fresh clothes, makeup, skincare and other items they needed. They called themselves the Altadena Teen Girls Fire Recovery Group, or Altadena Girls for short. Their little project took off instantly, with celebrities and major charities stepping in with donations and all kinds of help. One of the celebrities doing the most? The Duchess of Sussex, and her Archewell Foundation. The founder of Altadena Girls spoke to Marie Claire exclusively about their mission, and how Meghan helped out and more. Some highlights:
Altadena Girls was started by 14-year-old Avery Colvert: In the days following [the fires], Colvert gathered clothing to help local wildfire victims. Then she and stepdad Matt Chait had an idea: They would ?collect some clothes from whomever will donate? and ?have a little bit of a free fair for one day.? Colvert decided to also include products like skincare, accessories and makeup??exactly what a teenage girl would want.? A friend of her stepdads offered his creative space, Small Green Door, for them to use.
It was supposed to be a temporary thing: ?It was supposed to be a weeklong plan,? Colvert says with a laugh. However, word quickly spread and ?within probably 30 minutes of releasing the location? there were ?trucks lined up down the street donating items.? Celebrities like Paris Hilton and Ariana Grande got involved; major brands?including Grandes R.E.M. Beauty and Bella Hadids Orebella?sent in donations. Girls from around the area flocked to their temporary space to shop. And then Shauna Nep, the co-executive director of the Archewell Foundation, came calling. When Averys stepdad told her that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex?s foundation wanted to get involved, Colvert says she ?just started to break down crying.?
Avery on Meghan: ?Meghan is so incredibly kind,? the Altadena Girls founder continues. ?She was so excited to help.? After the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were spotted volunteering at a Los Angeles food bank and Meghan appeared in an Instagram Reel from Altadena Girls, numerous royal experts claimed the duchess was just looking for a photo opp. Colvert says she finds the claims ?ridiculous.? ?They?re like, ?Oh she came in and she just dropped her stuff off and left.? People weren?t there,? she shares, explaining that Meghan ?came in with bags of clothing from her own closet? and ?was there for multiple hours in a day.? The duchess even ?got stylist training? so she could help girls choose outfits and accessories. ?For all the girls that were coming in, they got to be styled by Meghan Markle,? Colvert continues, noting that some clients ?came in and just completely broke down? when they saw the duchess there. As for her stepdad, Chait, he says he was in shock at how long Meghan stayed and helped. ?She was carrying out bags to people?s cars,? Colvert says.
Archewell helped secure Altadena Girls? new space: But the Archewell Foundation?s support ?has continued beyond just that day,? as Chait tells Marie Claire. ?They?ve continued to open lots of doors for us and make connections,? he says. When it came to Altadena Girls?s new permanent space, which opened in Pasadena last week, Archewell even helped them ?to secure the building,? Chait says.
A long-term solution: As for that future, Altadena Girls has now become a long-term solution? to help girls in need, Colvert says, and not just a project to address the wildfires. Along with providing clothing and other items, mental wellness services?which Altadena Girls is already offering?will be at the heart of the organization?s new 12,000-square-foot permanent space in Pasadena. The building will also give kids who have lost their schools and activities a safe place to gather. ?There?s going to be therapy services, were going to build out a dance room and have dance classes and yoga classes,? Colvert says of Altadena Girlss new HQ, which, of course, also includes a free storefront where girls can shop. Chait adds several national brands have reached out to provide funding for the activity rooms. This isnt like a pipe dream right now, he says. We signed a long-term lease.
Archewell?s consequential support: While Altadena Girls has been lucky to receive support from the likes of Kerry Washington?whose birthday party the duchess recently attended?along with Charlie XCX, Mindy Kaling, Skims and Huda Beauty, Chait calls their relationship with the Archewell Foundation ?the most surprising and really consequential? connection to date. ?It really made the biggest difference,? he says.
[From Marie Claire]
The criticism of Meghan for volunteering in her hometown during a huge natural disaster was always unhinged, and it never had any basis in reality. It was actually a test case of the virulence of Deranger hate they exposed themselves as unreasonable people who lost their sh-t over absolutely anything involving Meghan. It?s really cool that Meghan went out of her way to support Avery?s project and that this has grown to such a huge extent in a matter of, like, three weeks. Archewell continues to do good work behind the scenes.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Sky News, Fox affiliate.
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| | Sharon Stone on having a stroke: don't ask your friends what to do, call 911 | | Added 2 hours ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Sharon Stone had a devastating stroke in 2001 that completely altered the trajectory of her life. She references the stroke a lot, I think because A) it was, to quote our dearly missed president, ?a big f?king deal,? and B) because she doesn?t want it to happen to you. Sharon just hosted the American Heart Association Red Dress Collection Concert last week, and once again she took the time to describe what she came back from, reiterating that ?I can do it, and I made it, and you can too.? One thing she said in particular that should definitely be amplified, is the reminder that if you?re experiencing any symptoms (like numbness, especially on one side of the body, confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding words), get yourself to a hospital ASAP. Do not wait or hesitate!
?I walked out of that hospital, unable to write my own name,? Stone, 66, tells PEOPLE exclusively while hosting the American Heart Association (AHA) Red Dress Collection Concert on Jan. 30. She said following the stroke, she was ?unable to remember anything.?
And yet, the Basic Instinct star tells PEOPLE, ?I?m right here hosting this ball on two feet in five-inch heels, and I can do it, and I made it, and you can too.?
After a ruptured vertebral artery bled into her brain for nine days, Stone says there weren?t rehabilitation programs that could help.
?When it happened to me, there wasn?t a program that would help me walk again. There wasn?t a program that would stop my suffering,? Stone explains. ?There wasn?t any aftercare, and certainly, insurance companies are f?king us right and left, and there wasn?t any insurance to help me. There wasn?t anything. And I?m sure that there?s probably even less now.?
Her situation was made worse by a turbulent personal life, as her husband Phil Bronstein divorced her during her recovery.
But the Casino alum said she wants people to know they can ? and should ? fight to survive: ?I want to say to people, ?You can do it.? And I want them to look at me and know, [I had] a husband that was divorcing me, with everybody fighting to take everything, with the bank, who had taken $18 million all my life savings. I had nothing. I had no money. No career.?
?I was destitute with a 1% chance of surviving,? Stone, who calls herself a ?proud survivor,? tells PEOPLE.
The Emmy winner urges people to pay attention to stroke symptoms and to advocate for themselves, warning, ?If your face starts to fall in any way or has numbness, if your arm feels strange or numb in any way, if your speech is weird, or you say something and it?s not what you were trying to say, or your speech is slurred ? you have no time, call an ambulance.?
?Don?t ask your friends. Don?t ask your husband or someone else, ?What do you think I should do?? 911, no questions asked,? Stone continues. ?I called people. They hung up on me, left me on the floor, didn?t help me. I was alone for three days on the floor.?
?Get an ambulance and get to the hospital. Walk into oncoming traffic and wave your arms,? she says. ?Do not hesitate.?
[From People]
Divorcing your spouse who?s in intense recovery from a stroke is so despicable, this one sentence is the only time I?ll waste on him. I applaud Sharon for raising awareness through her own, hard fought experience, because the advice she shares will be news to someone. The Cleveland Clinic gives the same warning to call 911 immediately. If you?re worried someone is having a stroke in your presence, run through the BE FAST acronym, gauging the person?s facility with Balance, Eyes-Face-Arms movement, Speech, and noting the Time symptoms started. (I?m linking to Cleveland Clinic?s stroke page here, which has more details on how to do BE FAST tests.) I would add that for any suspected head injury, not just stroke, you should go to the doctor immediately. I?ll never forget the lovely Natasha Richardson falling while skiing, but politely declining treatment because she said she felt fine. By the time she felt a headache and finally agreed to go to the hospital, it was too late.
So that?s my PSA courtesy of Sharon Stone with a cameo from the gone-too-soon Natasha Richardson. Now pass it on! (Though maybe not the bit about walking into oncoming traffic; that could end badly.)
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A post shared by Sharon Stone (@sharonstone)
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| | Prince William's favorite London nightclub is reopening & Duchess Meghan isn't invited | | Added 14 hours ago | Source: CeleBitchy |
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Back in the day, before Prince Harry and Prince William married their respective partners, they used to have a favorite private nightclub in London: Boujis. They were good friends with the manager or something, and whenever they weren?t doing military stuff, they would go to Boujis and drink and party. Going from memory, William was more of a regular there than Harry, and there was a years-long period when William and then-Kate Middleton would stagger out of Boujis and get into a taxi every weekend. Well, guess what the Daily Mail headline was this weekend: ?Harrys old haunt set to reopen (but guess whos not invited?)? As I said, William was more of a regular there, but they know they get more attention if they put ?Harry? in the headline. Anyway, big surprise, a private club owner is going on the record about how much he despises a Black American woman who left that island more than five years ago.
The nightclub where Prince Harry and Prince William spent some of their wildest nights is opening a new venue at the gates of Kensington Palace. But while the owners motto is everyone is welcome, there is one exception?
Everyone is welcome ? except Meghan, says Boujis co-owner, and old friend of Harrys, Carlo Carello. I dont like her.
But the doors, Im told, are wide open for the Prince and Princess of Wales, as Carello says they went on one of their first dates at Boujis. They drank Crack Babies and they loved it, he adds.
Crack Babies, for the uninitiated, are shots of vodka with passionfruit juice, chopped strawberries and Chambord liqueur.
Its been a home away from home for the royals, adds co-owner Jake Parkinson-Smith. Its been a safe space for them.
The original Boujis closed in 2016 after a brawl, but the club reopened as B London in 2023. Boujis 3.0, entitled Gallery, and co-owned by Carello, Parkinson-Smith, Barth Rougier and Steve Manktelow, will open in the coming months in the building which once housed Mahiki, another Noughties club owned by Carello and Parkinson-Smith and loved by Kate and William, as well as Princesses Eugenie and her sister Beatrice. It is a stones throw from Eugenie and Jack Brooksbanks current home in the palaces Nottingham Cottage, where Harry and Meghan, used to live. The club will feature a Cuban-style bar and a pizzeria called Carlos Pizza, while Earl Spencers son Ned is tipped to be a DJ there.
[From The Daily Mail]
Carlo Carello sounds absolutely vile. The arrogance it takes for a private club owner in London to open his mouth about a woman whose biggest crime is moving out of their country when they mercilessly abused her. But hey, at least we know that William and Kate love ?crack babies? and that they?re totally cool with all of this.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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