Kate Middleton Adds Her Name to Call For Funds to Help Vulnerable Young People

The Princess of Wales hopes a special cause focused on young people can reach its $5.7 million fundraising target

Kate Middleton is appealing for help for a favorite charity dedicated to young people.

The Princess of Wales, 41, says she wants to help secure the “long-term future” of the Foundling Museum, which supports vulnerable young people and develops groundbreaking work in the early years sector. She is visiting the museum in London on Thursday.

The organization wants to secure the museum’s home and custodianship of the Foundling Hospital Collection for the next 999 years and needs around $1.2 million. Princess Kate, who is patron of the center, said in a statement released Wednesday that the Foundling Museum has delivered pioneering creative “programs and life-changing support to families and young people for over twenty years.”

“Their ground-breaking work to support each care-experienced young person to fundamentally change the future direction of their lives is one that means the world to me. Importantly, it shows that it is never too late to make a difference, and that by providing the right support, we can enable those who have faced real difficulties to overcome their challenges and achieve their goals,” the royal mom said.

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“The Museum’s work opens the door to new opportunities for vulnerable children and young people, connecting them with artists and developing skills which they can take into their adult lives. By helping them to undertake this journey, we can create positive, lasting change that benefits our society as a whole,” she added.

“Just as the Museum has helped so many people, I hope that we can come together to do what we can to help protect the long-term future of this wonderful organization. I am grateful to all those who have already shown their support for the Foundling Museum and I sincerely wish that its vital work can continue for decades to come,” Kate concluded.

The Foundling Museum needs $1.2 million (£1 million) to reach its target of $5.7 million (£4.6 million) in its fundraising effort. Organizers have closed in on the goal via donations from 20 foundations and are now turning to the public element of the pitch.

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The patronage unites two of Princess Kate’s passions — working to help young people and their carers while also highlighting the role that art can play in therapy and support. The Foundling Hospital Collection includes masterpieces donated by the leading artists of the 18th century, like Hogarth, Gainsborough and Reynolds.

Larissa Joy OBE, Chair of the organization said in a statement that the fundraising would secure the Foundling Museum’s long-term future. “The appeal is urgent and critical. By helping, you can ensure the Museum and the extraordinary story it tells will be with us for generations to come and that the Museum can continue its vital work to improve the lives of children, young people and families through the arts,” Joy said.

The Princess of Wales most recently visited the Foundling Museum in January 2022, shining a light on the important children’s cause with Prince William. The hub tells the story of the 18th-century Foundling Hospital — the U.K.'s first children's charity. It was initially established in 1739 as a care home for children at risk of abandonment, and Princess Kate has served as patron of the modern museum since 2019.

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During the visit last year, Princess Kate and Princess joined experts at a roundtable discussion to discuss foster care in the U.K., the challenges that young people leaving care can face — such as employment, housing, mental health and addiction — and the work underway to tackle these issues. The royal couple also joined an interactive therapy session and were treated to a musical performance.

The Princess of Wales has long made early childhood development a keystone of her royal work. Noting that many of today's hardest social challenges have their roots in the formative childhood years, she has focused on collaborative action to help improve outcomes for kids as they move into adulthood.

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