The kits of essential items will be donated to ‘The Big Hoose’ Multibank co-founded by Gordon Brown and Amazon
Employees from Amazon’s corporate office in Edinburgh have come together to pack 5,000 hygiene kits filled with essential items worth more than £25,000 for a charity initiative supporting families in need across Fife.
The Hygiene kits which contain essential items such as soap, shampoo, and shower gel packed in a cloth bag, were donated to The Big Hoose, Fife’s Multibank, co-founded by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Amazon UK in 2022.
The Fife Multibank is a community donations hub, offering support for families experiencing poverty across the region. It provides surplus essentials, such as warm clothes, hygiene products, school uniforms, and bedding donated by businesses, like Amazon, directly to those in need.
The products are redistributed via the lead charity partner, The Cottage Family Centre, to charity groups and care professionals who give them directly to people in need, when they need them.
Kitting events also took place in Amazon’s offices in London, Swansea, Cambridge and Manchester with the aim of packing and donating 30,000 essential kits to the Multibank network across the UK.
The events are part of Amazon’s Global Month of Volunteering, an initiative that aims to help the communities where Amazon employees live and work.
During May, thousands of Amazon employees volunteered alongside their peers, adding to the company’s efforts to support its local communities throughout the year.
The volunteer initiatives helped address a range of issues, including STEM education and food insecurity.
Jane Poojari is an employee at Amazon’s corporate office in Edinburgh and took part in the packing event. She said: “I’m proud that my colleagues were able to come together to offer a helping hand to The Big Hoose through this volunteering.
“Amazon already donates thousands of products to the Multibank but it was great to play our part and support the incredible work that The Cottage Family Centre does to help those impacted by poverty in Fife.”
Pauline Buchan, Strategic Manager at The Cottage Family Centre, added: “Too many people in our local community are experiencing poverty and unable to afford the basic essentials so many of us take for granted.
“These kits will make a very real difference to families in our community who need support during difficult times. Thank you to the Amazon team for their ongoing support in helping us ensure The Big Hoose is here to help those who need it most.”
The Big Hoose Multibank has supported more than one hundred thousand of families in Fife with the donation of over a million surplus goods since it began operating in 2022.
Community support organisations, schools and colleges, homeless shelters, and elderly support services in the area have taken delivery of essential supplies from The Big Hoose.
The Big Hoose was the first Multibank established in the UK, an initiative co-founded by Gordon Brown and Amazon. It was followed by a second site in Wigan, Greater Manchester in 2023, then a third in Swansea, South Wales in 2024.
The initiative has now donated more than 2 million surplus essential items to over 200,000 families in need.