Natalie Portman pledges to match charity donations up to $100K for her birthday

She’s been sharing her politics and priorities on social media as protests inspired by the killing of George Floyd continue across the country.

Natalie Portman tried to help women adjusting to life after incarceration on Tuesday when she announced she would be matching donations to the A New Way of Life charity up to $100,000 to help celebrate her birthday.

The 39-year-old Oscar winner also received cheery birthday messages from her friends Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington for her special day.

Portman made the announcement on Instagram with a photo featuring her and the activist and writer Susan Burton, who founded A New Way of Life. 

‘For my birthday this year, I will be matching donations to Susan Burton’s @anewwayoflifela, up to $100k (for the next 24 hours),’ Portman wrote in the caption. ‘I am in deepest gratitude for Susan’s work, which helps heal our broken world.

The Vox Lux star explained the organization’s impact and how it helps close the revolving door that sends so many women to prison multiple times. 

‘Ever since I first read Susan Burton’s book Becoming Ms. Burton, I’ve been committed to supporting her organization A New Way of Life — which provides formerly incarcerated women with a safe place to sleep and a chance to rebuild their lives. 

‘The vast majority of these women have children and are victims of sexual or physical assault. Often, when they are released, they have no resources and the cycle of entrapment within the criminal justice system continues,’ she continued.

‘While there are so many great organizations fighting for racial justice, @anewwayoflifela is Susan’s solution to ending mass incarceration and healing communities,’ she wrote, before urging her followers to donate if they were able.

Burton, who grew up in housing projects in East Los Angeles, turned to drugs to assuage her grief following the accidental death of her five-year-old son in 1982.

She was imprisoned six different times during the next two decades, but each time she was released she had so little money that she wasn’t able to start a secure new life.

After seeing the value of therapy and other social services that she and many other formerly incarcerated women were denied, she started A New Way of Life in 2000 to give women leaving prison the support they need to restart their lives.

Natalie previously showed her support for the organization by attending its gala in December 2018. 

On Monday, Portman announced her support for initiatives to ‘Defund the Police,’ which seek to cut ever-increasing police budgets in favor of focusing on community efforts and social services that can lower crime rates.

She claimed that current efforts to merely reform police departments have failed, citing documented violence against protestors from members of the Minneapolis Police Department and the killing of George Floyd by a white MPD officer, despite the departments history of embracing reform tactics.

On Friday, she shared a tribute to Breonna Taylor, who was shot multiple times by police after they entered her home while she was sleeping, despite looking for a suspect who didn’t even live there.

Protestors marching against systemic racism and police violence throughout the US have cited her death as a major inspiration, along with Floyd’s death. 

Natalie was also the beneficiary of some sweet birthday posts from her friends Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

Reese, 44, posted a humorous photo of Natalie miming a scream while holding a Baby-Sitters Club book.

‘Happy Birthday to this incredible human. Who loves and gives with all her heart,’ she wrote.

‘I mean … look how much she loves The BabySitters Club!’ she joked.  

‘Happy birthday to this bada** mom, actor and activist,’ wrote Kerry. ‘Sending you LOOOVE,’ she added sweetly.

The Scandal star included a photo of herself in red sunglasses while Natalie beamed next to her.