A women’s charity in Edinburgh has received a £2,000 donation from the Amazon Development Centre Scotland team in the city.
Smart Works Scotland provides unemployed women with clothing for interviews, coaching and confidence training to have a better opportunity of securing employment. Opening its doors in 2014, the charity has supported thousands of women into employment.
Stacy Lundquist, Software Development Engineer at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, nominated the charity for support because of its positive impact over the last decade. She said: “I nominated Smart Works for support due to the impactful work that they do.
“Not only does the charity operate in communities across Scotland, but it effectively and actively combats many issues that UN Women has frequently highlighted, such as women’s economic empowerment.
“The staff and volunteers at Smart Works ensure that no unemployed woman is left in the dark about the next steps to a career.”
Rachel Shields, from Smart Works Scotland, added: “Thank you to Stacy and the team at Amazon Development Centre Scotland for their support and recognition of our hard work. 71% of our clients go on to get a job within one month of their time with us and, with donations like this, we can continue to help unemployed women reach their full potential.”
The donation forms part of Amazon’s Volunteer Cash Donation Programme, where Amazon employees nominate causes where they volunteer their time, to receive a cash donation. In collaboration with hundreds of community organisations around the world, Amazon employees are encouraged to volunteer and support causes they’re passionate about.
Community cash donations and employee volunteering are just two of the ways Amazon supports the communities where it operates.
In 2022, Amazon co-founded the Multibank initiative with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown to support families experinecing poverty. The first Multibank, ‘The Big Hoose’, opened in Lochgelly, Fife providing surplus essentials like nappies, toilet rolls, toothpaste and school uniforms, donated by businesses like Amazon and others, directly to those in need.
The initiative has gone on to donate more than 2 million goods to over 200,000 families across Scotland and Greater Manchester.
Amazon also helps community organisations transport meals and other essentials to families in need through its pro bono logistics programme, Amazon Local Good, including more than seven million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in partnership with Magic Breakfast.
Amazon partners with Comic Relief to help people tackle poverty and is the official home of the charity’s iconic Red Nose.
Last year, together with its employees, customers, and partners, Amazon raised over £2.7 million to fund projects that support people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and tackle issues such as homelessness, mental health problems, and food insecurity across the UK, and around the world.
Amazon has supported more than 500,000 students across the UK with free computer science and STEM education programmes through Amazon Future Engineer.
Learn more about the ways Amazon supports its communities at www.aboutamazon.co.uk/impact/community