Sarah Ferguson's Other (Charitable) Side

The British royal family has had their share of scandals over the years, but they've also given their time to many worthy causes. The most recent case in point is that of Sarah Ferguson, who has been caught up in a maelstrom of bad press but who has also given her time to make a difference in the lives of children around the globe.

The Sarah Ferguson Foundation was established in 2006 with the sole purpose of raising and managing a sustainable fund to support children's charities in every corner of the world. The core beliefs of Fergie's foundation are based on the core beliefs that the welfare of every child is every adult's responsibility, that helping children includes helping their mothers, that charity is blind to people's differences. It is principally interested in supporting education, empowerment, health and well-being through the programs addressed by the UN Millennium Development Goals for 2015.

Specifically, the Duchess has worked in partnership with other NGOs such as the Foundation for the Relief of Orphans (F.R.O.D.O.), which hopes to empower orphans in developing countries who suffer from disability. The Sarah Ferguson Foundation donated a large sum to F.R.O.D.O. to help with de-institutionalization of abandoned orphans after she visited a Romanian orphanage with her daughter Princess Beatrice.

Fergie's foundation has also financially supported the work of Afghan Connection, a small charity run by Dr. Sarah Fane which has built 30 school buildings that provide education to 30,000 children, to help them keep building more schools.

The Duke and Duchess divorced in 1996 and the couple is frequently cited as a model for civilized divorce and successful co-parenting of their two children Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

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