Amazon and Comic Relief commit £6 million to tackle effects of poverty across UK

3 December 2024, London: United States Ambassador to Britain, Jane D. Hartley, is hosting a special reception in London today (Tuesday, Dec 3) to showcase the groundbreaking work of The Multibank charity founded in Scotland by former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

A Multibank is a clothes, bedding, baby, hygiene, toy and furniture bank all rolled into one. It puts business surplus in the hands of those who need it most through a network of local charities and care professionals.

Ambassador Hartley says the Multibank is “One of the best tools we have to provide essential goods to the people who need them the most,” and today she uses her platform to urge more companies to follow the lead of her friend Gordon Brown and Amazon “To do good, not just to do well.”

The Multibank was launched three years ago by Mr Brown with Amazon as a charitable experiment to redistribute surplus stock at scale from Amazon’s largest returns centre in Fife, to families supported by The Cottage Family Centre, in nearby Kirkcaldy, where Mr Brown is a longtime patron.

What began as a pilot in Christmas 2021 has sparked a staggering “distribution revolution” which, in just three years has established five Multibank charity centres across Britain and gifted 5 million products - at no cost - to half a million families who had need of them.

The social impact of The Multibank model is proving game-changing as families supported by The Multibank report massive reductions in their anxiety as the goods they receive reduce financial anxiety and enable them to stretch their budgets to cover rents, heating and food.

The Multibank supplies of household cleaning and comfort items are promoting well-being, restoring school attendance, school performance and children’s engagement in extra-curricular activities.

Support professionals report getting Multibank goods to the families who need them is preventing families from falling into crisis, and stopping children from being taken into care. Social value reports show that for every £1 spent in the first year of the Fife pilot, £5.96 was created in social value.

Ambassador Hartley and Mr Brown will be joined at Winfield House, the official UK home of the US Ambassador by Amazon UK Country Manager, John Boumphrey and CEO of Comic Relief, Samir Patel, today to urge socially conscious businesses to join this 'coalition of compassion,’ which is also designed as a sustainability initiative for businesses as it provides them with good product surplus and carbon offset solutions.

The Winfield House Multibank reception comes as Amazon UK and Comic Relief announce today a £6 million commitment over the next four years to The Multibank Comic Relief Fund to facilitate the expansion and long-term sustainability of Multibanks across the UK. £4 million pounds will be invested by Amazon and £2 million will be donated by Comic Relief.

Jane D. Hartley, US Ambassador to the UK, said: “We must lift up the most vulnerable when they are down and equip young people with resources as they grow. In both the UK and the United States, there are still too many families living in poverty, but we can make a difference when we combine the reach of government with the innovation of the private sector.

“This game-changing new commitment will boost the reach and the sustainability of the Multibank program, one of the best tools we have to provide essential goods to the people who need them the most. I have always believed that companies have a responsibility to give back to the world; to do good, not just to do well.

“Amazon and its partnership with Gordon Brown are a model example. I’m delighted to shine a spotlight on this important effort to lift up communities across the UK, and to celebrate the very best of American and British compassion at Winfield House."

Former UK Prime Minister Rt Hon Gordon Brown, said: “I’m delighted US Ambassador Jane Hartley is joining our Multibank Coalition of Compassion. She joins football, rugby and sports clubs, celebrities from film, theatre and music, including David Tennant, Peter Capaldi and Michael Sheen and Simon Cowell in calling on suppliers and funders to donate goods to Britain’s Multibank so we can put a smile on thousands of children’s faces this Christmas and show them we care.

“The Multibank model is simple: businesses have surplus household goods and via our community-based charity partners we can get them straight to the people who need them. No product ever needs be wasted whilst we have families in need of them.

“It’s three years since we founded the first one in Fife. Since then, 5 million goods have been distributed to over 0.5 million families and I want to thank every company from the country’s biggest to the smallest who have helped us by donating surplus goods that make a house a home. From toothpaste to bedding, from crockery to coats, baby clothes to football boots, toilet paper to trainers - we gift surplus and it’s helping hard pressed families stretch tight budgets to the end of the month.

"I'd like to thank Comic Relief and Amazon for the huge £6 million they are investing between them in the Multibank Fund. We’d like more businesses to join our coalition of compassion. By saving more products from going to waste, or by giving us services in kind, we can continue to save more families falling into destitution and help roll back the effects of poverty which is blighting the lives of 4.3 million children in the UK.”

John Boumphrey, Amazon UK Country Manager, said: “Our goal is to help as many families as possible by connecting surplus goods from Amazon and other businesses, with those who need it most. I’m incredibly proud of the work our team is doing, alongside many committed partners, to alleviate the effects of poverty and ensure no good product goes to waste. Through this new £6 million pledge with Comic Relief, we aim to grown and scale our Multibank network, fostering a more equitable and sustainable future for even more families across the UK.”

Samir Patel, CEO of Comic Relief, said: “The Multibank is an invaluable lifeline to people and their families in being able to access essential goods and keep themselves and their children warm and healthy. We are really proud to help take this much needed initiative to the next level to support people who are having to face and live in poverty. Whether it’s clothes, bedding, essential hygiene products or school uniforms, the power of this innovative cross organisation partnership provides critical help within communities across the UK.”

Keely Dalfen CEO of The Brick Multibank Wigan, said: “As an established charity working within deprived communities, The Brick has worked alongside vulnerable families for many years. However, even we did not anticipate the tsunami of hardship that is crashing into people’s lives. The Multibank is a lifeline, not only to families, but to professional partners such as social workers, teachers, and other charity workers, providing a wraparound care network of support and essentials with dignity. We are all working in partnership, with one mission - to alleviate this devastating wave of poverty by creating a new and efficient distribution revolution model that sustains both childhood opportunity and the planet.”