Today, we started sending the following emails to AmazonSmile customers. I would like to share it here as well.
Dear Customer,
In 2013, we launched AmazonSmile to make it easier for our customers to support their favorite charities. But now, almost ten years later, the program has not grown to produce the effect we originally hoped. With so many eligible organizations (over a million worldwide), our ability to influence was often spread too thinly.
We would like to inform you that we plan to retire AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. From building affordable housing to providing access to computers, we will continue to pursue and invest in other areas where we can make a meaningful difference. From science education for students in underserved communities to using logistical infrastructure and technology to assist a wide range of communities affected by natural disasters.
To support charities participating in the AmazonSmile program in this transition, we are offering a one-time donation equal to three months of the amount earned through the program in 2022. We will continue to donate until the program officially ends in his February. Even with AmazonSmile closed, charities can still create their own wishlists and ask Amazon customers for help.
As a company, we continue to support a wide range of other programs that help thousands of charities and communities across the United States.
- housing equity fund: We invest $2 billion to build and maintain affordable housing in our home communities. In just two years, we have financed the construction of over 14,000 affordable homes. We plan to build at least 6,000 more homes in the coming months. These units host over 18,000 middle to low income families, many with children. In just one year, our investments have increased affordable housing stock by at least 20% in communities like Bellevue, Washington and Arlington, Virginia.
- Amazon Future Engineer: Google has funded computer science curricula for over 600,000 students in over 5,000 schools. We have plans to reach an additional 1 million students this year. It also provided emergency assistance by providing winter clothing, food and school supplies to her 55,000 students in the local community.
- Community distribution program: We partner with food banks in 35 U.S. cities to deliver more than 23 million meals and use our logistics infrastructure to help families in need access healthy food. This year alone, we plan to deliver an additional 12 million meals. In addition to delivery services, he has donated 30 million meals in communities across the country.
- Amazon Disaster Relief: Providing rapid assistance to communities affected by natural disasters using our logistics capabilities, inventory and cloud technology. For example, creating a disaster relief hub in Atlanta ready to deploy over 1 million relief supplies, disaster relief teams have responded to over 95 of his natural disasters, and donated over 20 million relief supplies to non-profits. donated to the organization. Help the community on the ground.
- Community donation: We support hundreds of local non-profit organizations doing meaningful work in the cities where our employees and their families live. For example, each year we donate hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations working to build stronger communities, from youth sports leagues to local community colleges to shelters for homeless families.
We continue to strive to make a difference in many ways, and our long-term commitment to our communities remains unchanged. We are committed to doing better every day for our customers, employees and the world at large.
Thank you for using Amazon.