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Duchess Meghan’s Mom Doria Ragland Completes 5K for Suicide Prevention

Doria Ragland Alive And Running 5k For Suicide Prevention Duchess Meghan’s Mom
Alive And Running 5k For Suicide Prevention on September 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Robin L Marshall/Getty Images

Supporting a good cause. Duchess Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, stepped out to attend a charitable event benefitting suicide prevention on Sunday, September 29.

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Ragland, 63, participated in the 21st Annual Alive and Running 5k for Suicide Prevention in Los Angeles. The event raised an impressive $464,081 for Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center, which is more than the organization’s initial goal of $400,000.

Alive & Running is an annual race that “remembers loved ones lost to suicide while raising funds and awareness for the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center,” according to the event’s website. The organization additionally described itself as a “world leader in training, research and services for people who have thought about, attempted or lost someone to suicide.”

Like Ragland, mental health is an important issue to Meghan. The Suits alum and her husband, Prince Harry, advocated for mental health during their tour of Africa. At the time, they spoke with reporters about the matter while visiting with Waves for Change, an organization that provides aid to young people through surfing.

Related: Harry and Meghan Embark on Royal Tour of Africa

“No matter where you are in the world, if you’re a small community or a township, if you’re in a big city, everyone is dealing with a different version of the same thing,” Meghan, 38, said on September 24. “Globally I think there’s a bit of a consciousness crisis, and so the fact we’re able to be here together to see on the ground so much good work that’s being done, just because people are willing to talk to each other about it and someone’s willing to listen, is huge. We’re all sort of trying to power through and find some optimism.”

Harry, for his part, detailed the importance of separating mental illness from mental health. He  argued that “mental health, which is every single one of us, and mental illness, which could be every single one of us.”

“I think they need to be separated,” the 35-year-old continued. “The mental health element touches on so much of what we’re exposed to, these experiences that these kids and every single one of us have been through.”

Related: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan: A Timeline of Their Relationship

Meghan and Harry are in the midst of their first royal tour of Africa, which commenced in Cape Town on September 23. The trip is slated to last 10 days, spanning four countries as they attend 35 engagements. Their 4-month-old son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, joined the couple on the trip.

Doria-Ragland-Alive-And-Running-5k-For-Suicide-Prevention-Duchess-Meghan’s-Mom
Meghan Duchess of Sussex visits the Woodstock Exchange to meet female entrepreneurs working in technology, during the royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019. Shutterstock

Before heading to Africa, Harry expressed his excitement for the family’s travel to Africa on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s official Instagram page on August 31.

“In just a few weeks our family will be taking its first official tour to Africa, a region of the world that over the past two decades has been a second home to me,” he wrote at the time. “Our team has helped create a meaningful programme that we’re so excited to share with you. On a personal note, I can’t wait to introduce my wife and son to South Africa! We’ll see all of you very soon.”

For those who are struggling or know someone in need of help, please contact the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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