Employees from the Amazon fulfilment centre in Dunfermline honed their DIY skills when they spent the day volunteering at a local high school.
The Amazon team volunteered at Lochgelly High School, a proud and ambitious learning community where everyone strives to achieve their best.
A group of six colleagues from the Amazon team spent over 40 hours at the school painting and building furniture to assist the school with turning a staff resource room into a new classroom.
Thanks to the efforts of the team from Amazon in Dunfermline, the school has saved around £3,000 in refurbishing. The Amazon team also donated school essentials including clothing, school bags and school meals worth over £8,000.
Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said: “Our team really enjoyed helping transform the staff resource room at Lochgelly High School into a new classroom.
“I hope the students and teachers are pleased with the results and that they enjoy their new learning environment.”
Kim Skelton, who led the volunteering from Amazon in Dunfermline, added: “I love helping people, especially when it’s for our local community.
“As a team at Amazon in Dunfermline, we feel very rewarded that we can help the staff and pupils by donating essential goods. The donations have already brought tears to families who have been able to utilise the products.
“The school has acted as a hub for local families in need and it’s been a lifeline to most this time of year.”
Melissa Mann, a teacher from Lochgelly High School, said: ““Everyone at Lochgelly High School would like to thank Jamie, Kim and the team at Amazon in Dunfermline for their amazing work converting the staff resource room into a classroom.
“We are so appreciative of their help – it would have taken us much longer to make the transformation happen without them.”
The volunteering and donation to the school is the latest in a number of support programmes between Amazon and Lochgelly High School in 2023.
Earlier last year, drama and media studies students from the school visited FirstStage Studios, in Leith, for an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour aimed at inspiring and nurturing young creative talent in Scotland.
At the studio, the students saw how The Rig, which first premiered on Prime Video in January 2023, was filmed and had careers talks with the crew and cast, including Scottish actor Martin Compston.
Lochgelly High School has also taken part in Amazon Future Engineer Class Chats, part of Amazon’s computer science education programme that provides free access to STEM learning resources, including virtual school trips, coding courses, and career talks. As part of Lochgelly’s participation in the programme, Amazon UK Country Manager John Boumphrey spoke to students from Lochgelly High School about his career experience and unique insights.
The Amazon Future Engineer Class Chats programme brings both live and on-demand virtual career talks directly into UK classrooms. Amazon employees working in a wide variety of roles share their insights and experiences with school students, engaging young people about their future opportunities.
Community donations and employee volunteering are just two of the ways Amazon supports the communities in and around its operating locations across the UK.
Since the start of 2022, 1.5 million essential products have been donated to more than 150,000 families in need across Scotland and Greater Manchester by a charity initiative called The Multibank.
Founded by Amazon, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Cottage Family Centre in Kirkcaldy, The Multibank in Lochgelly, known locally as ‘The Big Hoose,’ offers an emergency service for families fighting poverty, providing surplus essentials like nappies, toilet rolls, toothpaste and school uniforms, donated by businesses like Amazon and others, directly to those in need and so helping to reduce waste.
Learn more about the ways Amazon supports its communities
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