London—31st December, 2015 - This Christmas, hundreds of charities will be helping those in need with goods provided by Amazon. Amazon’s donations over the past six years now top £2 million. Amazon has increased 2015 support to help charities with the refugee crisis and remains In Kind Direct’s largest retail product donor.

In Kind Direct today announced that more than 1,300 UK charities are benefiting from Amazon’s donation of more than £750,000 worth of goods in 2015 to In Kind Direct, bringing Amazon’s total estimated retail donation value since 2009 to more than £2 million.

Amazon has been working for six years with In Kind Direct, one of The Prince’s Charities, to redistribute products to grassroots charities across the UK.

In 2015, charities supporting causes ranging from disadvantaged youth to homelessness and the current refugee crisis have benefited from a wide range of products donated, including toys, games, sports and household equipment, toiletries and clothing.

Amongst the charities to have received goods are: Phoenix Community Resource Hub, a centre based in Kent helping young people at risk; CCLASP, a charity supporting cancer and leukaemia patients and their families in Edinburgh; the Caxton House Community Centre in Archway, Islington; and working on the refugee crisis, British Red Cross, JRS UK and the Separated Child Foundation, who have received products such as warm clothes, shoes and cookware items to distribute to refugees.

As well as donating surplus products, Amazon has provided a range of support to In Kind Direct including advice and mentoring, logistics support and cloud services from Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Ajay Kavan, Vice President - Special Projects at Amazon, and also a trustee for In Kind Direct and its international sister organisation In Kind Direct International, commented:

“Our partnership with In Kind Direct enables Amazon to support charities providing help to people in need up and down the country. In Kind Direct makes it easy for us to give and provide assurance that the products we donate are put to good use in local communities across the UK.”

The Phoenix Community Resource Hub
The Phoenix Community Resource Hub is a volunteer community centre in Sandwich, Kent. Among many activities it delivers a range of services and residential trips for young people, particularly those affected by alcohol and drug use, and it supports local homeless young people. Jamie is one young person the centre was able to help.

Phil Scott, Chairman of The Phoenix Community Resource Hub, commented:
“We prepare packs to help them settle in. We gave Jamie energy saving light bulbs as there were no lights in his new home, as well as soap and cleaning products. Being able to order these from In Kind Direct helped Jamie get along in the first few days. We are aware of what former homeless people need or haven’t got and it is great when we can get these things for them from In Kind Direct.”

CCLASP
Children with Cancer and Leukaemia, Advice and Support for Parents (CCLASP) is an Edinburgh-based children’s charity, supporting young people suffering from cancer and leukaemia. The charity helps over 500 families with transport to hospital, support groups and activities run throughout the year at no charge. CCLASP distributes gift parcels to sick children every day both at home and in hospitals, and holds a very popular Christmas party providing cheer and relief to the children and their families.

Valerie Simpson, Managing Director, says:
“We would struggle to run most of our operation without In Kind Direct, but we would never be able to afford to buy items for the Christmas Party, were it not for them and their donors such as Amazon. It is amazing for us to be able to give the children the quality of presents they deserve.”

Caxton House Community Centre
Caxton House is a community centre based in Archway, North London which acts as a hub for a range of community groups and projects in the area. Activities delivered there include job clubs, after school clubs, a toy library, Zumba classes, bowls and tea dances, councillor and MP surgeries, community gardening, and many more. Up to 15,000 people use the centre every year.

Sue Collins, Bookkeeper at Caxton House, says:
“The centre is run almost entirely on In Kind Direct products. Without the savings we make getting quality products from companies like Amazon we would not be able to offer some of the services we do. Thank you to In Kind Direct and all their donors for making this possible.”
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About In Kind Direct

  • In Kind Direct is one of The Prince’s Charities. Its purpose is to inspire product giving for social good by re-distributing usable products donated by some of the UK’s best known retailers and manufacturers to charities working in the UK and abroad.
  • In Kind Direct is a one-stop solution providing the infrastructure to accept large quantities of goods and then stores, sorts and delivers them directly to charities in its network.
  • In Kind Direct has made a powerful impact on communities through the redistribution of £145 million worth of surplus goods from 1,000 companies including some of the UK’s best known manufacturers and retailers: Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Reckitt Benckiser, Asda, Wilko and Colgate-Palmolive.
  • Discover In Kind Direct on video: http://www.inkinddirect.org/IKDvideo_3m57s
  • More information available on the In Kind Direct website: www.inkinddirect.org
  • Robin Boles, CEO, is available for interview. Additional contacts across the UK at In Kind Direct charity partners are available on request.
  • Interview footage from both charity and donor partners can be made available on request.