Support dogs charity backed by Amazon team

A charity that provides support dogs for people with disabilities has received a £1,000 donation from the Amazon fulfilment centre in Chesterfield.

Support Dogs is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with autism, epilepsy, and disabilities by providing them with trained specialist assistance dogs. The charity offers three different types of support dog: autism assistance dogs, seizure alert dogs and disability assistance dogs. One in four of the dogs the charity trains come from rescue centres or are unwanted pets taken in by Support Dogs staff and volunteers.

Amazon in Chesterfield recently welcomed the team from Support Dogs to its annual Summer Fun event to raise awareness of the charity to Amazon employees and their families.

The charity will use the donation to provide ongoing health checks and care for the dogs as they train to become lifesaving support dogs.

Sharon Clayton, an employee at Amazon Chesterfield, added: “It is great to see Amazon lend a helping hand to Support Dogs with this donation as it offers an invaluable service to many people throughout our community.

"Our team really enjoyed the visit from the charity at our Summer Fun event. It was fantastic to learn more about what the charity does, and it was great to spend time with the dogs.”

Rita Howson, from Support Dogs, said: “Thank you to the team at Amazon in Chesterfield. We are extremely grateful for the recognition and appreciation of the work we do, and this donation will be of great benefit in providing essential training for our dogs.”

Community donations and employee volunteering are just two of the ways Amazon supports the communities in and around its operating locations across the UK. Amazon provides students, teachers and parents with free computer science and STEM education programmes through Amazon Future Engineer and has teamed up with charity partner Magic Breakfast to deliver more than seven million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in disadvantaged areas of the country.

Earlier this year, Amazon partnered with Comic Relief to become the official home of the Red Nose. Amazon employees across the UK hosted fundraising activities and together with their customers and partners, raised £2.7 million to support those going through the toughest time of their lives.

Learn more about the ways Amazon supports its communities.