Sarah Ferguson

By Melinda Copp

Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a mother who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a woman and a mother. Above all, the Mom of the Month is dedicated to her children. Rich or poor, famous or not, she shines as an example of what mothering is all about.

Sarah Ferguson is best known as Fergie the Duchess of York, a former member of the British Royal Family, which is a status that most moms can't even begin to fathom. She's been in tabloid headlines, television commercials and the media spotlight for decades. But her true legacy, and the example she hopes to set for her daughters, is much more down-to-earth.

Ferguson has used her celebrity status to contribute to the greater good through her work with international charities, which is something that every parent can appreciate.

"My grandmother taught me the importance of giving to others, and that is something I have tried to teach my girls by example," Ferguson says. "I've tried to show them that it is possible to make a difference in the lives of people in need."

In 1993, the Duchess founded Children in Crisis, a charity that works to improve the lives of children around the world affected by conflict, deprivation, poverty or other hidden crises, by working in partnership with local communities to provide education, health and protection. The charity helps over 250,000 children annually in 10 countries around the world. They are currently focusing on meeting the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals of universal primary education by 2015, improving maternal health and combating HIV/AIDS. Ferguson still serves as the Children in Crisis's Life President.

In 1994, Ferguson founded Chances for Children. The office of this charity was on the 101st floor of the World Trade Center. Luckily, no one from the charity was in the building on 9/11. The Duchess is also patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, an organization that raises awareness and funding for research to cure Lou Gerig's Disease, and the United States spokesperson for SOS Children's Villages.

Ferguson's latest charitable endeavor was an intercontinental tour with the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) for the fifth World Children's Day. Each November, over 100 countries participate in World Children's Day by hosting fundraising events and activities in McDonald's restaurants. McDonald's Corporation and its owners, operators, suppliers and customers around the world have raised nearly $75 million for the RMHC over the program's first four years.

In October, the Duchess was named global ambassador for World Children's Day at McDonald's for the second year. And she spent the month of November traveling across the United States, and to China and Japan, to raise money and awareness for critical children's issues.

"I think Ronald McDonald House Charities provides an extraordinary service to seriously ill children and their families, which is why I am delighted to support the organization and World Children's Day," Ferguson says. She made stops in Tokyo, Seattle, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Boston, New York and Beijing, participating in press events, galas and concerts. She met with community leaders and celebrities, including 14-time Grammy Award winner David Foster, Emmitt Smith and Beyonce Knowles. But her favorite part of the tour was the time she spent meeting families and patients, and hanging out with kids.

"It was an incredible tour across the United States and then on to Japan and China," Ferguson says. "The greatest moments of all were those spent with the children in each city. I was so moved by their incredible courage and spirit."

Ferguson helped children at the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle trace their hands and write what they are thankful for inside the handprint. Local artists are going to incorporate the handprints into works of art to display at McDonald's restaurants throughout Western Washington. And the art will later be auctioned to benefit the local RMCH chapter. She delivered special gifts to children in a Dallas/Fort Worth area hospital, and visited an orphanage in Beijing. And she helped kids in Detroit create plaster molds of their hands, which will later be framed and displayed at the local Ronald McDonald House.

All this time in the spotlight has made the Duchess a media pro, and she leverages the attention she receives to work for her charitable efforts.

"As a public figure I feel that I have a job to do and a responsibility to do it very well," Ferguson says. "My children have a public role as well, and I've taught them to respect what it means to be in the spotlight and how to work with it for the greater good."

Ferguson has two daughters: Princess Beatrice, 18, and Princess Eugenie, 16. And despite her demanding work, the Duchess works hard to keep them close.

"What I love most about being a mother is loving, nurturing and teaching my girls," Ferguson says. "We are an incredibly close and honest family. I suppose the fact that our lives are so busy now is a challenge because we spend so much time apart these days, with the girls away at school and with me working and traveling. However, we do speak daily and manage to come back together as a family most weekends, so for that I think we are very lucky."

Ferguson also loves getting her daughters involved in her work. She says that one of her favorite ways to spend the day with her daughters is having them join her on a charity visit to a hospital or children's program. But Ferguson isn't all charity work and no play.

"When we are on holiday sometimes the best times are on a day that has nothing in particular planned," Ferguson says. "That's when we can enjoy ourselves at a leisurely pace, just talking, spending time outdoors, or curling up to read or watch a classic movie."

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