A suicide prevention charity has received a £1,000 donation from the Amazon fulfilment centre in Dunfermline.
Andy’s Man Club is a nationwide charity aiming to end the stigma around men’s mental health by offering weekly mental health support groups for men across the UK. The local groups in Dunfermline meet every Monday evening at 7pm, excluding bank holidays, where men can chat in a safe space about any difficulties they may be struggling with in their lives.
The donation from Amazon will go towards supporting the charity nationally with advertising and promotional materials, volunteer expenses, events, facilitator team building and provisions over periods when the centres are closed.
Speaking on the donation, Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said: “Andy’s Man Club is a fantastic charity working hard to reduce the stigma around men’s mental health.
“I hope that this donation will be beneficial for the charity as it continues its work.”
Craig Bain, an employee who nominated the charity for support, added: ““Andy’s Man Club is a charity that is very close to my heart.
“It provides incredible support for men seeking to improve their mental health and I am glad Amazon has decided to support the charity with this donation.”
Joanne Smith from Andy’s Man Club, said: “We would like to say a big thank you to Jamie and the team at Amazon in Dunfermline for this donation.
“Their support is greatly appreciated and will allow us to continue our suicide prevention work in Dunfermline.
A week-long series of activities took place at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Dunfermline as team members celebrated the return of Prime Day.
Some of the fun and games organised for employees at the fulfilment centre included a carnival parade, tombola and carnival themed games. The events were organised by Amazon in Dunfermline to say thank you to the team for the work they do delivering for customers around the UK.
Autumn Morton, a team member from Amazon in Dunfermline who took part in the Prime Day fun, commented on the week, saying: “We had a great time celebrating together during Prime Day.
“We appreciated the chance to have fun and bond as a team as we prepared for a busy, rewarding week.”
Amazon Dunfermline General Manager, Jamie Strain, added: “Prime Day is an exciting time for customers and colleagues alike, so it’s important we set time aside to mark the occasion.
“Our week of fun provided us with an opportunity to celebrate together while delivering for our customers.”
Amazon employees receive competitive pay and comprehensive benefits. Pay starts between £11 and £12 per hour per hour depending on location and employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection and an employee discount as well as a company pension plan.
Amazon employees can also take advantage of Amazon’s pioneering Career Choice programme, which pre-pays 95% of tuition for courses in high-demand fields, up to £8,000 over four years, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.
Amazon also provides opportunities to improve existing skills or learn new ones through internal career progression opportunities such as cross-training, transferring to a different department and promotion into a managerial role.
To find out more about a career with Amazon, visit Amazon Jobs.
‘I’M PROUD TO BE ME’ SAYS DUNFERMLINE AMAZON EMPLOYEE
A team member from the Amazon fulfilment centre in Dunfermline is sharing his story in celebration of Pride Month.
Pride Month, celebrated annually in June, honours the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, which was a turning point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. Celebrations now take place in countries all over the world and include parades, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts, attracting millions of participants.
This year, employees from Amazon will be taking part in Pride parades in Birmingham, Manchester and London.
John Aitken from Dunfermline is one of the employees taking part in the Edinburgh parade. Alongside his personal Pride Month celebrations, John is sharing his story to showcase Amazon’s #ProudToBeMe campaign in honour of Pride Month.
John , from Falkirk, is the general manager’s assistant at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Dunfermline.
Before joining Amazon, John attended a performing arts college in Cambridge and went on to work in entertainment on cruise liners in Los Angeles and Australia. During Covid, John wanted to be closer to his family and decided to move back to Scotland with his fiancée. Having discovered a passion for managing teams whilst working on the cruise liners, John found an opportunity to study a business management apprenticeship at Amazon.
Outside of work, John teaches and choreographs for children at a production company in central Scotland. Growing up in the performing world, John now passes down his passion and knowledge to children and watches them grow into their own performers. John also produces his own shows for a variety of theatres in Scotland.
John’s favourite thing about working at Amazon is the opportunities.
“I’ve been given so many opportunities during my time at Amazon, such as working in lead roles and then stepping up to an area manager role. I love to try every new challenge that comes along and Amazon is the place to do that,” John said.
John is also the site ambassador and regional lead in Scotland and Ireland for the Glamazon team, Amazon’s LGBTQIA+ affinity group, and plays a part in the community engagement side of the team.
Speaking on his experience with Glamazon, John said: “With my performance background, I’m the go-to guy for charity and site events.
“From having interest in Glamazon to approaching the team and becoming involved, it all grew quite naturally and organically until I took the role as regional lead. It was very much taking every challenge as it came and it’s been the best experience for me.”
“There is so much support at Amazon for the LGBTQIA+ community. They offer a range of programmes to help employees internally. From policies in the past that are now improving, to pronoun inclusivity, Amazon goes the extra mile to create an inclusive environment.”
Pride is a big event in John’s calendar, and he gets involved in a lot of events both through Amazon and outside of work.
This year, he is organising workshops for the Dunfermline site to educate team members on pronoun inclusivity, touching on identification. The Glamazon team will also be attending the Edinburgh Pride march.
He shared: “Pride is a moment to reflect and look back on how far the LGBTQIA+ community has come, from the civil riots to where we are now – it’s incredible. There are still inequalities, but Pride Month allows us to take a moment to understand the journey and that’s something I try to keep true to heart.
“That moment of standing there as a gay man makes you feel so at home with where you are and what you’re doing, especially when your workplace is as supportive as Amazon. We’ve all got journeys to take, we’ve all had journeys to get to where we are, but the journey that we still have to come is incredibly exciting.”
What’s next for John? He added: “I love working on the community side of Amazon and the more I do, the more my enthusiasm for it grows.
There’s so much more we can do for community engagement in the future and that’s really exciting.”
Ceysa McKechnie, Head of Glamazon in the UK says: “We are incredibly proud to have John as a member of Glamazon in the UK.
“Amazon believes that equality is a driver of innovation, and we strive to create environments that are inclusive to all employees regardless of their gender identity, sexual orientation or expression. It’s great to hear stories like John’s that inspire others to be accepting and inclusive to all colleagues in the workplace.”
Amazon has 13 affinity groups, also known as employee resource groups. They play an important role in bringing Amazon employees together and create a sense of community globally while encouraging inclusivity and diversity. These groups include Glamazon, the Black Employee Network, Asians@Amazon, People with Disabilities and Women@.
Glamazon helps Amazon employees build a network with other LGBTQIA+ colleagues and allies across the business on a global level. The group promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion, and gives mentorship opportunities to members.
There are over 200 active Glamazon affinity group chapters around the world who work with Amazon to create an inclusive workplace, host hundreds of community events, and celebrate Pride annually.
Amazon has also been listed in The Stonewall Top 100 Employers list, the UK’s leading benchmarking tool for LGBTQIA+ inclusion in the workplace.
Three charities providing support for children and young people across Scotland have received donations totalling £1,500 from the team at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Dunfermline.
Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, UK Career Academy Foundation and Ronald McDonald House received £500 each following nominations for support from employees at the Amazon fulfilment centre.
Children’s Liver Disease Foundation provides information advising families and helping them to cope with living with liver disease. The charity also run events across the UK to help families and children affected by childhood liver disease connect with each other.
UK Career Academy Foundation encourages young people to realise their potential, regardless of the barriers they face in society.
Ronald McDonald House Glasgow offers a safe space for parents and carers next to the Royal Hospital for Children to allow them to remain close to a child undergoing treatment.
Speaking on the donations, Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said: “We think very highly of the charitable organisations supporting children and their families through hard times, so it’s great to lend a helping hand to Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, UK Career Academy Foundation and Ronald McDonald House Glasgow.
“The work they do for children and families both across Scotland and locally is excellent, and we are pleased to support them with these donations.”
George Fleming, an employee at Amazon in Dunfermline, added: “The three charities we’re supporting put so much time and effort into their causes and it really shows.
“The care my family received at Ronald McDonald House Glasgow was excellent and I’m so pleased we can support the team with this donation.”
Lauren Coffey, from Ronald McDonald House Glasgow, added: “I would like to thank the team at Amazon in Dunfermline for their support with this donation. We aim to support families and children during such difficult times and as a fully self-funded House we couldn’t do it without help from the community.”
The donations to Children’s Liver Disease Foundation, UK Career Academy Foundation and Ronald McDonald House Glasgow were made as part of Amazon’s programme to support the communities around its operating locations across the UK.
A Fife charity aiming to boost the representation of LGBTQ+ people in rural areas has received a £1,000 donation from the team at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Dunfermline.
Pink Saltire provides a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community – especially young people – in smaller, more rural areas of Scotland. The charity offers many services including training, advice and support and launched The Hive LGBT+ Centre in Kirkcaldy earlier this year.
The donation from Amazon will be used to purchase specialist equipment for their new recording studios, which the charity will use to train volunteers to help them produce podcasts and radio shows.
Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said: “It is a pleasure to make this donation to such an important organisation.
“We are pleased to support Pink Saltire as its work makes such a big impact in Kirkcaldy and beyond.”
Chris Graham, an employee at Amazon in Dunfermline who nominated the charity for support, said: “Some of my close friends have been supported by Pink Saltire – it’s great that Amazon can boost the charity with this donation.”
Stuart Duffy, from Pink Saltire, added: “We really appreciate the support of Jamie and his team, this will make a big difference and ensure more LGBT+ people have the tools to really amplify their voices.
“We hope the work at The Hive will continue to inspire people across Fife and beyond, where sometimes its still difficult to be your true self.”
The donation to Pink Saltire was made as part of Amazon’s programme to support the communities around its operating locations across the UK.
A Scottish charity for veterans of the British Armed Forces has received a £1,000 donation from the team at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Dunfermline in honour of Remembrance Day.
Poppyscotland provides support for current and former members of the Armed Forces, as well as their families, living in Scotland. The charity maintains a safe space for men, women and families with issues linked to their time in the armed forces or with their struggles adjusting from military to civilian life.
This is the third year in a row that Amazon in Dunfermline has donated to Poppyscotland. This year, the donation will go towards the charity’s welfare services for the Armed Forces community, providing advice and support to those struggling with finances, employment, housing, mobility needs, mental or physical health issues and more.
Speaking on the donation, Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said: “Amazon has long been a proud supporter of the UK’s armed forces community and we’re pleased to make this donation to Poppyscotland.
“The work done by the charity’s staff and volunteers does not go unnoticed in our community.”
Megan Wright, an employee from Amazon in Dunfermline, said: “My family has received so much support from the team at Poppyscotland.
I’m happy that Amazon can help the charity with this donation.”
Gordon Michie, Poppyscotland , added: “The team at Poppyscotland and I would like to say a big thank you to Jamie and our friends at Amazon in Dunfermline for this generous donation. We appreciate all the support we can get, and with donations like this, we can provide help to the men and women who need it most.”
“Every penny will help us offer life-changing welfare support to Scotland’s Armed Forces community, helping with housing, employment, finances, mental and physical health issues, and more.”
“We’re also delighted to hear how Amazon is supporting veterans making the transition to civilian life, assisting them in training for new careers after service.”
The donation to Poppyscotland was made as part of Amazon’s programme to support the communities around its operating locations across the UK.
Almost a decade ago, Amazon signed The Armed Forces Covenant. The Covenant has a focus on helping the Armed Forces community to access the same support from Government and commercial services as the public.
Last year, Amazon increased its support of the military community by growing its partnership with the Royal British Legion.
The partnership, which began two years ago, sees Amazon encourage customers to support the Royal British Legion through an official charity store, featuring products that raise money for the Legion. All proceeds from the sale of goods go directly to the charity. Amazon also offers customers the opportunity to support the Royal British Legion through Amazon Smile.
In addition to several support programmes for the Royal British Legion and other services charities, Amazon offers an employment programme for members of the services community called the Amazon Military Programme. The programme offers members of the military community the opportunity to pursue a wide range of exciting new career paths at Amazon.
Amazon offers an employment programme for members of the services community called the Amazon Military Programme. The programme offers members of the military community the opportunity to pursue a wide range of exciting new career paths at Amazon.
The team at Amazon in Dunfermline recently celebrated Halloween by inviting the local community to take part in trick-or-treating at the fulfilment centre.
Families from the local area were invited to visit the fulfilment centre for a Halloween themed fancy dress event. Members of the Amazon team also celebrated the day with sweet treat giveaways and a charity raffle in support of CHAS.
Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said: “We all had such a great evening and loved seeing so many children dressed up for Halloween. The atmosphere was fantastic and it’s even better that we could support CHAS in the process.”
Lara MacDonald, Senior Corporate Partnerships Executive at CHAS, said: “I want to say thank you to the Amazon team for supporting us through the site’s Halloween event. Every donation means so much to us and we always appreciate Amazon in Dunfermline’s support.”
The donation to CHAS was made as part of Amazon’s programme to support the communities around its operating locations across the UK.
