Amazon Stars 2023: Two Amazon employees are recognised for their incredible impact on the community

Amazon employees in our operations network go above and beyond to deliver for our customers every day, but many also support their local communities by volunteering their time, fundraising for those in need, and so much more.

To recognise and reward these heroes who have helped others, we established the Amazon Stars programme in 2020, calling on employees to nominate colleagues who have gone the extra mile for their local communities. Thousands of nominations are received each year, with inspiring stories of Amazon employees serving colleagues, customers, and communities.

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Amazon Stars are selected and recognised by their teams. This year’s winners received a personalised “Dream Box” prize to celebrate their kindness and generosity in helping others. In addition, a £2,000 donation was made on their behalf to their preferred charities.

Meet the two winners of this year’s Amazon Stars.

Ann Towse, from Lincoln, works at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Wakefield as an Interim Area Manager. She was nominated by her colleagues to recognise the work she does to support the charity Orangutan Appeal UK, which operates hand-in-hand with Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo, dedicated to the rehabilitation and preservation of orangutans.

While on a sabbatical earlier this year, Ann took up the position of Liaison Officer for Orangutan Appeal UK for a second time, having previously held the post in 2017.

Collectively, during her six months as Liaison Officer, Ann raised almost £50,000 for the charity and played a role in over 900 orangutan adoptions.

Speaking about her experience with the charity, Ann said: “Being a Liaison Officer for Orangutan Appeal UK has been a great privilege. It involves no hands-on contact with the orangutans, as this can be dangerous for them and us, but instead focuses on promoting awareness of the orangutan plight by engaging with and educating visitors at Sepilok. I’m honoured to have played a vital part in seeing orangutans adopted by people all over the world.”

Find out more about Ann’s story.

Former Royal Navy Officer, Dan Marsden from Wirral won our second and final Amazon Star award for 2023.

Alongside his job at Amazon as a Reliability and Maintenance Engineering Technician in Warrington, Dan devotes much of his time to fundraising for several charities, particularly for baby loss charity Tommy’s. This charity conducts research into miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth, to support babies and families.

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Explaining his passion for the charity’s work, Dan said: “Unfortunately, my wife and I have struggled to conceive. When I left the Royal Navy, we got pregnant for the first time, and sadly the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage. I joined Amazon shortly after that and I wanted to do something to help other people who are in the same situation.”

One of Dan’s first fundraising activities was a 24-hour gaming stream where he and his friend raised £3,000. The money raised went to Tommy’s and Sands, two charities which conduct research into miscarriage prevention.

Dan’s fundraising didn’t stop with the 24-hour gaming stream. The following year, he and his friend took on the Wirral Coastal walk before embarking on another 24-hour gaming stream, raising £1,850 for Tommy’s. In 2022, they climbed Mount Snowdon in Wales and raised £750 for local charities including The Clatterbridge Cancer Trust and The Trussell Trust. This year, Dan and his friends did the three-peak challenge, which involves climbing the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales, raising another £2,000 for Tommy’s.

Find out more about Dan’s story.

Yassin Diriye, who works at Bristol’s Amazon fulfilment centre, was nominated for his work with the local community, including helping people to apply for jobs and taking isolated elderly people out for social activities.

Roberta Ieremie, a Shift Manager at Amazon’s delivery station in Dublin, was nominated for organising events to celebrate different global cultures, as well as supporting community organisations like NI Cancer Fund for Children and Foodstock NI.

Joseph Kennedy, who works on the Reliability Maintenance Engineering (RME) Technician team at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Warrington, was nominated for donating 16 inches of hair to The Little Princess Trust earlier this year.

Jessica Jones, a Reliability Maintenance Engineering (RME) Technician at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Peterborough, was nominated for her fundraising efforts for charities including Breast Cancer Now and Children in Need.

Iain Monaghan, who works at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Bolton, was nominated for his walking challenges to fundraise for charities such as Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Walking with the Wounded.

Barry Knibb, a Reliability Maintenance Engineering (RME) Technician at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Warrington, was nominated for using his experience in the Royal Air Force to teach young cadets in the Air Training Corps.

Oliver Forizs, a sustainability ambassador at Amazon in Dunfermline, was nominated for his volunteering efforts to support environmental charities such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Peter Morgan, a team lead at the Amazon fulfilment centre in Manchester, was nominated for his 49-mile-long walk around the site to raise money for Comic Relief.