Brighton school charity supported by Amazon

Friends of Downs Junior School (FODJ) supports Downs Junior School in Brighton, working to provide an inclusive and nurturing environment for its staff and pupils. The charity helps provide essential equipment as well as running events including quiz nights and the school’s Christmas fair.

The donation from Amazon went towards a range of STEM related building kits to allow the whole school of 500+ pupils to participate in collaborative hands-on tasks across a STEM focused week.

Mathew Godfrey is a Senior Customer Solutions Manager at Amazon in London, and he nominated the charity for the donation.

He said: “As a father of two primary age children, I am amazed by the entirely voluntary work FODJ does locally to raise funds and run events to benefit the pupils at the school. I’m so pleased Amazon is able to give back in this way and help local communities.

"The donation will really make a difference providing equipment for the pupils to thrive, and hopefully contribute to breaking down some of the barriers around inclusion, diversity and equity and set pupils on a path towards a bright future.”

Hayley Castle from FODJ added: “We are so pleased to receive this donation from Amazon, and on behalf of all staff, parents and pupils I’d like to say a big thank you to the Amazon team. This support means we can better invest in the pupils who attend Downs Junior School so they have the best learning opportunities and environment that they can.”

Community donations and employee volunteering are just two of the ways Amazon supports the communities where it operates. Amazon co-founded the Multibank initiative with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to support families in need. The initiative has donated more than 3 million surplus goods to over 400,000 families across Scotland, Wales, Greater Manchester, and London.

Amazon has supported more than 700,000 students across the UK with free STEM education programmes through Amazon Future Engineer and helps community organisations transport meals and other essentials to families in need through its pro bono logistics programme, Amazon Local Good.

Amazon partners with Comic Relief and is the official home of the charity’s iconic Red Nose. Together with its employees, customers, and partners, Amazon has raised over £4.8 million to fund projects that support people across the UK, and around the world.