September 21, 2023
Amazon volunteers help keep Seattle parks clean and thriving
Nearly 400 Amazon employees got their hands dirty cleaning up five neighborhood parks around Seattle. At each location—Judkins Park, Amy Yee Tennis Center, Delridge Community Center, Genesee Park and Playfield, and Othello Playground—volunteers assisted with picking up litter, weeding, and mulching activities, all in the name of beautifying the parks.
“Volunteering is a great opportunity to connect with Amazon team members who have similar interests and are dedicated to the same causes you are,” said Yaminee Patel, lead product manager of launch strategy at Amazon. “It is a way to invest in the community and help make our cities better and safer places.”
This is the second year Amazon volunteers participated in the Seattle Parks cleanup activity as part of Amazon’s Global Month of Volunteering, an opportunity for tens of thousands of Amazon employees around the world to support causes they are passionate about. The event was organized in partnership with the Seattle Parks Foundation and Seattle Parks and Recreation, two organizations that work with the community to champion vibrant and equitable parks and public spaces. The park cleanup efforts contribute to Seattle’s goal of establishing 30% tree canopy cover in our city by 2037.
“Amazon contributes a great deal to Seattle and the region in the form of public-private partnerships. For example, Amazon has allocated $525 million for affordable housing since launching the Housing Equity Fund in 2021, which supported the construction of over 5,300 units in the Puget Sound region,” said Sara Nelson, Seattle city councilmember. “The Amazon Parks cleanup, in partnership with the Parks Foundation and Seattle Parks and Recreation, is another way Amazon makes a positive impact on communities across the city, and I was thrilled to be invited to participate this year!”
September 15, 2023
Amazon employees help deliver food to local schools in Northern Virginia
Amazon volunteers joined nonprofit partner Food For Neighbors in the fight against teen food insecurity. Amazon participated in the nonprofit’s Red Bag Program kickoff event and worked alongside community members at Arlington Career Center, Herndon Middle School, and Whitman Middle School. In total, community volunteers across nine active sorting sites organized, packed and delivered 23,000 pounds of food and toiletries, donated by 1,700 Northern Virginia households. The effort will help over 5,800 students in 42 secondary schools in Arlington, Fairfax, and Loudoun counties.
“We’re committed to supporting the immediate needs of students and their families—these often include providing food, shelter, clothing, and more. Thanks to community partnerships like this, we’re able to provide students the support they need to keep learning,” said Melissa Robinson, principal program manager of Volunteering at Amazon. “We were grateful to partner with Food For Neighbors during Amazon’s Global Month of Volunteering, a time when tens of thousands of Amazon employees around the world will go out in their communities and do good together.”
Food For Neighbors’ Red Bag events mobilize individuals to shop for nonperishable food and essential toiletries, which they place in a red bag on their doorsteps for collection. Neighborhood volunteers pick up the donations and bring them to one of nine central locations, where items are sorted and then delivered to school pantries. Social workers, counselors, and/or family liaisons within each school district help identify students in need and distribute food and/or toiletries to them.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate Amazon as a Food For Neighbors Community Champion and sponsor of our first Red Bag food and toiletry collection event of the new school year,” shared Karen Joseph, founder and executive director at Food For Neighbors. “Amazon’s philanthropic partnership and $155,000 donation through Amazon Fresh helped us quickly expand our services into Arlington Public Schools last school year, where we helped roughly 970 hungry students, many of whom received support weekly.”
Amazon devotes resources, logistical expertise, and talent to help reduce family hunger and serve communities in need. This year, Amazon delivered more than 3.9 million meals to families in underserved communities and donated over 194,000 pounds of food to pantries, food banks, kitchens, and shelters in the Capital region. Additionally, Amazon delivered over 1.7 million meals to Puget Sound families in underserved communities and donated more than 6.7 million pounds to local nonprofit partners across Washington state to fight food insecurity.
August 31, 2023
Amazon and its employees give back for this year's Global Month of Volunteering
Amazon employees are gearing up for Global Month of Volunteering, an initiative that aims to get them even more involved in the communities where they live and work. From September 1-30, tens of thousands of Amazon employees will volunteer alongside their peers, adding to the company’s efforts to support its local communities throughout the year.
In collaboration with hundreds of community organizations around the world, Amazon employees will participate and lead in-person and virtual volunteering opportunities in support of causes they’re passionate about. The volunteer initiatives will help address a range of issues, from climate change, education, and food insecurity, to disaster relief and housing inequity.
"We’re lucky to partner with incredible organizations doing impactful work in our local communities,” said Alice Shobe, global director of Amazon in the Community. “Our employees are an incredible source of ideas to drive positive change in their communities. Many of them are already active in their communities—and we want to continue to create even more opportunities for our teams to give back.”
Here are four ways Amazon employees will be mobilizing during Global Month of Volunteering:
- Support disaster relief efforts. Volunteers across Amazon offices in Europe, India, and the U.S. will organize and participate in hygiene- and comfort-kit building activities to meet the immediate disaster-caused needs of individuals, families, and communities.
- Eliminate barriers to learning. Amazon employees will collect and distribute books, school supplies, and other essential items—including clothes, shoes, and coats—to support educational opportunities and equitable outcomes for children from underserved communities.
- Address food insecurity. Volunteers at our HQ locations will pack and distribute food for local food-service programs supporting families in underserved neighborhoods.
- Tackle community sustainability challenges. From planting trees and making seed balls, to participating in kayak cleanups that clear waterways of harmful plastics, volunteers will contribute to community efforts to improve tree canopy cover and support a greener environment.
Amazon contributed more than $450 million in cash donations and sponsorships to hundreds of organizations around the world last year, and the company was named the No. 1 corporate philanthropist in both the Puget Sound and the Washington, D.C. metro regions.
Follow #AmazonGMV on social media and learn more about Amazon’s community impact efforts to find out how our employees are supporting local nonprofits across the world during Global Month of Volunteering and beyond.
