The strength of our partnership with Mary's Place and the greater Seattle community was in full force at a very special event – the first Mary’s Place ‘Fun in the Sun’ Summer BBQ.
Hand in hand with our Mary’s Place neighbors, Amazon employee volunteers from many different teams and firefighters from the Seattle Fire Department (Station 2, Engine 2) celebrated the end of summer with over 200 Mary’s Place residents. These residents came from Mary’s Place Guest Rooms, located just a few blocks away from our headquarters, and 2 additional Mary’s Place shelters.
Party attendees enjoyed hotdogs and hamburgers grilled to perfection by our local firefighters and topped their dinners off with delicious desserts, including snow cones, freshly popped pop-corn, and cotton candy. Children played giant Connect-4, ring toss, and corn-hole with Amazonians and their parents, and got a special tour aboard the fire truck. Then, they danced the night away to a live performance by the popular Seattle children’s band, The Not-It’s. Many of the children even got to play the drums, the guitar, and sing alongside the band. By the end of the night, most of the children had their own balloon animals, and were covered in colorful and glittery face paint.
Since April, the Mary’s Place Guest Rooms have provided more than 14,000 bed nights, over 8,000 of those for children, and have served over 26,000 meals. Right now, these Guest Rooms are also home to 5 dogs, 2 cats, and 1 turtle.
At the BBQ, Marty Hartman, the Executive Director of Mary’s Place emphasized how important it is to be a kind, caring neighbor. Captain Stephenson, from the Seattle Fire Department, echoed her sentiments in talking about the power of strong community partnerships. The Not-It’s, in their high-energy performance, reminded us to have fun, and to spread love. We at Amazon are honored to work so closely with our awesome neighbors at Mary’s Place, and to support the incredible work they do to find local families their ‘forever home.’ We so enjoyed having some fun in the sun with them on a beautiful summer night.
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