A number of charities and community groups in Cork have welcomed donations from the local Amazon Customer Service Centre as part of an Amazon programme to support communities affected by COVID-19.

Cork Life Centre, Mercy University Hospital, Dress for Success and Cork Simon Community received donations from the Cork team as part of the program.

Amazon’s Cork Site Leader, Ian Semple, said: “We appreciate the work being done to support our community by these fantastic organisations and are keen to help bolster their efforts.

“Thank you to all the frontline workers, charity staff and volunteers for continuing to offer their crucial services during the recent challenging times.” Cork Life Centre, the voluntary organisation offering an alternative learning environment to young people who find themselves outside the mainstream education system, received nine Amazon Fire Tablets at the beginning of lockdown to facilitate remote learning for its students.

The Amazon team has supported the Cork Life Centre for three years, working with the school and its students to deliver coding, French and business lessons, as well as with various mini projects, including renovations and fundraisers for the school.

Mercy University Hospital, which treats over 137,000 patients and has over 1,200 staff, received a donation of €7,500 from the Amazon team.

The funds will be used to refurbish a property inside the hospital for its frontline workers to rest, recuperate and eat between shifts.

The Amazon team in Cork is also helping local homeless charity, the Cork Simon Community, one of Amazon’s long standing charity partners.

In aid of Cork Simon, Amazon hosted a virtual coffee morning, raising more than €500.

Dress for Success Cork, a charity that helps women get into the workforce, is also receiving support from the Amazon team.

To prepare for re-opening, the Amazon Cork team is providing desktop partitions, facemasks and handwash.

The team is also helping with CV preparation and interview skills.

The donations are part of the “Amazon in the Community” programme, whereby the company supports the communities around its operating locations across Ireland and the UK.

Michéal Sheridan, from The Mercy Hospital Foundation, said: “Thank you to the Amazon team in Cork for donating €7,500 to help kit out a nearby property for our frontline heroes. From our frontline workers and their loved ones, thank you for helping us provide them a home away from home.” Don O’Leary, Director of Cork Life Centre, added: “We were thrilled to receive a donation of Fire Tablets from Amazon. Not only did these devices allow students to access online classes and assignments, but they were also able to continue counselling services, therapy and extra-curricular activities through online platforms. We would like to convey our thanks to Ian and the rest of the team at Amazon for all of their support – it means so much.” Carmel O’Keeffe, Founder/CEO, Dress for Success Cork said: “Sincere thanks to the Amazon team in Cork for their much-appreciated support to help us with our re-opening. Our primary concern is the health and safety of our clients and volunteers. The Amazon Cork team have now made it possible for us to re-open by providing the necessary PPE and with the team’s ongoing support, our clients will benefit with CV preparation and interview training.”