Mandy Moore Says Motherhood Is 'Challenging and Rewarding': 'It Truly Takes a Village'

Jenna Jones

Mandy Moore's son August "Gus" Harrison just turned 8 months and the This Is Us star is opening up about how motherhood has changed her perspective.

"Being a mom has certainly made me aware of how challenging and rewarding motherhood is," says Moore, 37, who welcomed Gus with husband Taylor Goldsmith in February.

"It truly takes a village. I'm very conscious of how fortunate we are to not have had to struggle to meet Gus' basic human needs," she adds. "There are so many women, moms and their children, who don't have that ability and have to overcome challenges I can't even imagine."

To help make a difference, Moore is partnering with Parker Clay, a luxury leather goods brand that employs at-risk women in Ethiopia, and Step Up, a mentorship program for high school girls to help their shared mission to aid in the professional development of young girls.

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Moore hosted an event on Oct. 23 in Los Angeles where attendees hand-wrote letters of empowerment to the 60 women in their mentorship program, as well as to the new group of women in the training program at Parker Clay in Ethiopia, encouraging them in the professional goals they've set.

"I first heard about Parker Clay from my friend Mary Louis Parker," says Moore. "She's good friends with the founders, Brittany and Ian, and a few years ago we collaborated on a bag called the 'Mimi' (named after my mom's nickname for me) for Mother's Day. Since then I've followed their growth and story and really value their dedication to making a better bag for a better world."

Moore continues: "They've been able to generate over 600,000 hours of employment for women in Ethiopia who are given job training, a true living wage, benefits and more. They're also a certified B Corp and that's an incredibly lengthy and intensive vetting process — something they were committed to since day one and which they fought hard to achieve."