Amazon to help thousands of Fife families in need of support

Amazon is donating a range of products to help more than 13,000 families in need of support across Fife this year.

The firm, which has a warehouse in Dunfermline, is working with a range of charities across Scotland.

A £150,000 grant has been provided along with logistics expertise to help create a new project site that will be based in Lochgelly.

Essential goods will be delivered to local families.

The lead charity partner is The Cottage Family Centre, based in Kirkcaldy.

It provides a range of support to families and individuals who are vulnerable to social exclusion as a result of alcohol and drug problems, other health-related issues, poverty, poor housing, relationship breakdown and unemployment.

All donations are being processed at a new warehouse in Lochgelly, which has been provided free-of-charge by Bob Purvis, Chairman of The Purvis Group, to help facilitate the project.

Donated items include backpacks, clothing, electrical products, home furnishings, lightings, nappies, toilet roll, toiletries, wipes and toiletries.

Gordon Brown, former UK Prime Minister and ex-MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, and Pauline Buchan, the manager of The Cottage Family Centre, are encouraging other charities based in Fife to get involved and help the campaign reach its goal of supporting 13,000 families by the end of this year.

Charities can make referrals on behalf of service users for the household goods needed, which will then be processed by the Amazon project team and made available for collection by the charities to be delivered to families.

John Boumphrey, the UK Country Manager at Amazon, said: "We are committed to supporting the communities that we serve, and are proud to work with The Cottage Family Centre and a coalition of charities in collaboration with former Prime Minister Rt Hon Gordon Brown to help families in need across Fife." 

"Our team in Dunfermline is working side-by-side with the charity partners to fulfil the needs of their service users.

"As a result, we are delighted to say that we have already supported 3,500 more families in Fife since starting deliveries at the end of last year, and we look forward to helping many more people in 2022."

Gordon Brown said: "Communities are at their best when they are working together to make sure everyone is supported.

"I would like to thank Amazon, The Cottage Family Centre, the coalition of charity partners and the many people working on this project who have created a successful and scalable model which directly reaches those most in need across Fife by donating and delivering thousands of products to them."

Pauline Buchan, the manager of The Cottage Family Centre, said: "It has been a challenging time for many of our service users, so it’s been a huge boost to work with Amazon and our fellow coalition partners to help so many families in need, and we look forward to continuing our work through the coalition for the rest of 2022.

"I have seen first-hand the way these donations can make life that little bit easier for people and thank Amazon for its continued commitment to helping the local community."