Hundreds of employees from Amazon in Swansea, London, Manchester, and Edinburgh have come together to pack and donate 10,000 backpacks filled with essential back-to-school items worth more than £120,000, to help ensure local children are equipped for the new school year.
The backpacks, which contain stationary supplies, water bottles, and scientific calculators for secondary pupils, were donated to Multibanks across the UK. Co-founded by Amazon and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Multibanks are community donations hubs, offering support to families experiencing poverty across the UK. They distribute essentials, like toiletries, baby products, cleaning goods and bedding donated by Amazon, and other national and regional businesses, directly to those in need.
According to a recent study from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, teachers are ‘staggering’ under the extra demands caused by poverty in Great Britain, diverting them away from their core teaching role. The report found that seven in ten (73%) staff in primary schools across Britain say supporting pupils who cannot afford the essentials is a challenge in their school. It results in teachers and general practitioners (GPs) informally acting as emergency providers and social workers alongside their day jobs, as they devote time and resources to support struggling parents and children.
Amazon and Gordon Brown established the first Multibank, known as ‘The Big House Multibank’, in 2022 in Fife, Scotland, with charity The Cottage Family Centre. Since then, we have opened Brick by Brick in Greater Manchester, with Wigan and Leigh charity The Brick; Cwtch Mawr in South Wales, with Swansea charity Faith in Families, and Felix’s Multibank, launched in July in partnership with The Felix Project. The initiative has now donated more than three million surplus essential items to over 400,000 families in need.
“The start of a new school year should be an exciting time for families but with the cost of living crippling so many in our communities, it’s become yet another financial worry for them,” said Charlotte Hill OBE, CEO at The Felix Project. “Through the donation of these back-to-school essentials from Amazon, we hope to provide children with the quality items they need to start the new school year ready to learn and with a smile on their faces.”
“As someone who grew up in South London, I’m passionate about supporting my local community and I’m glad that my colleagues at Amazon share this passion,” added Emily Crane, one of our volunteers in London who packed the back-to-school kits. “It was great to support such a brilliant organisation during the run-up to the back-to-school season, which can be a worrying time for some parents and pupils in our community.”
One of the organisations to have received the bags is 214 Space in Notting Hill, West London. Samia Badani is the CEO and said: “The donation of school backpacks and supplies could not have come at a better time for families in London. We value our partnership with The Felix Project and through their support, we are in a position to support families during challenging times. Our event was well attended by families who are struggling to afford basic necessities. We have witnessed first-hand the hardship they face and seen the enormous pressure placed on parents to ensure their children are ready for school. It was not just parents; we saw an increasing number of young people coming forward for help with schoolbooks and stationery. It is only through multi-sector collaboration that we can all start addressing challenges which ultimately impact on the education of these children and young people.”
