Kate hails inspiring teenage Scout fundraiser who slept outside for a year
The duchess was visiting mental health text service Shout 85258 to mark its milestone one million conversations.
The Duchess of Cambridge has praised an “inspiring” teenage Scout who raised more than £8,000 for mental health text service Shout by sleeping outside in a hammock for a year.
Kate met 13-year-old Leo Street after he braved temperatures as low as -5C in his garden to raise money for the crisis support charity.
The duchess, who is joint president of The Scout Association, joked: “There really isn’t a big enough Scout badge for that.
“What you achieved is really inspiring.”
Kate, wearing a £355 khaki green leopard print dress by US designer Derek Lam, was visiting Shout 85258 in London to mark its milestone one million conversations.
She and the Duke of Cambridge helped establish the text messaging support service for those struggling to cope in 2019, with a £3 million investment from their Royal Foundation.
He told the duchess his next fundraising adventure will be to cycle to Scotland during half term.
Analytics expert Mark Ungless shared data with Kate that showed children as young 13 and under accounted for 8% of Shout’s texts, mostly between 10pm and midnight.
Kate also met Cassie Waters who began raising money for Shout after using the service herself when she suffered mental health challenges last year.
Use of the platform has jumped by 140% since the start of the pandemic, and Kate was told of the need for more volunteers to meet the growing demand.
She viewed a live demonstration of the platform before joining a small group of Shout volunteers to hear about their experiences of helping those in distress.
Shout is the UK’s only 24/7 text messaging support service and offers confidential help to anyone struggling with their mental health.
Round-the-clock support comes from clinical supervisors and 2,500 trained volunteers.
The service was William and Kate’s first major project with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and was launched in May 2019.
The couples were dubbed the fab four, but Harry and Meghan split away from the Cambridges’ Royal Foundation a month later to set up their own charitable organisation before quitting as senior working royals in 2020.
