From closing schools to overloading hospitals, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has impacted communities across the U.S., including the cities home to our two corporate headquarters: the Seattle region and Arlington, Virginia.
Amazon is committed to supporting the communities where we live and operate, and we’ve ramped up efforts to help local businesses, schools, and relief organizations during this health crisis.
Below are some of the many projects underway in and around our HQ communities, and we’ll keep this page updated as we find new ways to help. To stay up to date on our global initiatives, visit our COVID-19 response blog.
Accelerating community relief efforts
As part of its right now needs response effort, Amazon is donating thousands of much needed items, including hygiene and cleaning products, shelf-stable food, school supplies and activities, and more, to nonprofits across the Washington, D.C. area.
Amazon is leveraging its vast delivery network to support the immediate, right now needs of vulnerable populations. Amazon is delivering more than 48,000 meals combined to Seattle Public School students and, alongside FareStart, to families residing in Seattle Housing Authority homes. The deliveries to Seattle Public Schools’ families support students who are medically fragile, have disabilities, or who are fighting homelessness.
To further support our nonprofit partners at FareStart, Amazon is also donating hundreds of products to FareStart, donating downtown Seattle parking spots to FareStart staff coming into work to prepare emergency meals, donating expanded cleaning services to FareStart’s catering kitchen on Amazon’s Seattle campus, and is providing financial support for FareStart’s COVID-19 response efforts.
We donated more than 250,000 critical items to patientsin quarantine or recovering from COVID-19 across the Seattle area. Items include linens, towels, shelf-stable food, Amazon Devices, entertainment items, and other supplies.
In partnership with Seattle-based catering business Gourmondo, we distributed 73,000 meals to 2,700 elderly and medically-vulnerable residents in Seattle and King County during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We donated $5,000 in Amazon Gift Cards and $5,000 in product donations to the Capital Area Food Bank in Arlington. We also donated $3,000 in Amazon Gift Cards to DC Central Kitchen.
We gave a $150,000 grant to the Alliance for Education’s Right Now Needs Fund to support Seattle Public Schools students and families experiencing hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The donation includes flexible funding and credits to shop online for eligible groceries, health products, and personal care items sold on Amazon, which will be delivered directly to doorsteps.
Amazon is also partnering with Bellevue LifeSpring, an organization providing services to children and families, to help those in need obtain essential items during the outbreak. Families in the Bellevue School District who can't reach food pick-up sites can also shop online for eligible groceries, health products, and personal care items sold on Amazon and get them delivered directly to their doorstep.
We donated $1 million to a Seattle COVID-19 Response Fund to rapidly deploy resources to community-based organizations addressing the outbreak. The Seattle Foundation distributed $10 million in to 128 nonprofits to bolster frontline responses to the pandemic.
We donated $1 million to kick-start emergency COVID-19 response efforts in the Washington D.C. area. The funds will enable four community foundations—ACT for Alexandria, Arlington Community Foundation, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, and the Greater Washington Community Foundation—to distribute grants to nonprofits addressing food insecurity, housing and shelter, and emergency financial assistance.
We donated $155,000 to Arlington and Washington D.C. food banks, including DC Central Kitchen, Capital Area Food Bank, Martha’s Table, Central Union Mission, and Arlington Food Assistance Center.
Amazonians have joined Seattle community members to raise $27 million to help fund local nonprofits and charities through the All in Seattle initiative.
We’re matching all donations to Mary’s Place, a nonprofit fighting homelessness in the Seattle area, up to $1 million, and will match gifts of $500 or more 2-to-1 from now through May 6.
Supporting virtual learning
Amazon helped purchase and deliver 300 Wi-Fi devices to families with low internet connectivity within the Arlington Public School district to support students now learning from home.
Amazon employees are providing technical expertise to Seattle Public School students and their families as they navigate remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We’re donating 8,200 laptops to Seattle Public Schools students who do not have access to a device at home. Update June 22: Amazon is donating an additional 750 laptops, valued at more than $200,000 to Seattle Public Schools elementary school students. This comes after Amazon’s original donation of 8,200 laptops, valued at over $2 million. These additional devices will help ensure all Seattle Public Schools students have access to a device so they can participate in online learning.
We’ve donated 150 tablets to the Child and Family Networks Center, an Arlington-based non-profit focused on promoting education within at-risk communities.
Rainier Prep in Seattle received Kindle Kids Edition devices and WiFi hot spots to provide easy access to books while school and libraries are closed. Rainier Prep is one of Washington's first charter schools, committed to college and career readiness for low income, students of color and immigrant students.
The Seattle Children’s Hospital received Kindle Kids Edition devices and Fire HD 8 tablets to help isolated patients and their families stay connected and entertained with educational content while in treatment.
Helping local businesses and healthcare organizations
Amazon provided $5.5 million in relief to more than 400 small businesses through cash grants and free rent as part of our Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund.
Amazon delivered swabs for use in COVID-19 test kits to University of Washington Medical Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
The Amazon Care team is providing specially-trained couriers to help deliver and pick up swab kits to people in the greater Seattle region who qualify for a study led by Public Health – Seattle & King County.