Amazon Business helps Cash for Kids with their ‘Mission Christmas’ appeal

This year, Amazon Business is partnering with nationwide charity, Cash for Kids, to help them with their Mission Christmas appeal, a campaign that encourages shoppers to buy an extra Christmas gift for disadvantaged children this festive season. Cash for Kids is Bauer Radio’s network of local charities, which operate across 23 areas around the UK, working to provide Christmas gifts to 200,000 children this year.

Last year, Mission Christmas raised a total of more than £12.5 million in gifts and cash donations, supporting more than 250,000 children across the UK. This year, Amazon Business has stepped in to help Mission Christmas by supporting Cash for Kids in helping to distribute the huge number of gifts which their generous listeners donate.

Amazon Business teams have created a Mission Christmas storefront on the Cash for Kids donation website, where shoppers can easily buy gifts on Amazon for disadvantaged children in a few clicks. The teams have also worked hard to ensure there is enough stock for the curated storefront, and even negotiated discounted prices with Amazon selling partners for items featured on the Mission Christmas storefront, making donating easier and more affordable for shoppers. Amazon Business and Cash for Kids predict that donations to the value of £500,000 will be made through the new Mission Christmas storefront this year. The gift list on the storefront also promotes gifts for age brackets 0-3 and 12 years+ to encourage donations in their most under-donated age groups.

Molly Dobson, Country Manager Amazon Business UK&I, said: “Many families struggle this time of year and Cash for Kids’ 'Mission Christmas' campaign is stepping in to provide much needed support for thousands of children across the UK. We're pleased to have provided logistics expertise and technical support to help Cash for Kids reach more children and families this festive season.”

Sally Aitchison MBE, Managing Director, Cash for Kids said: “Cash for Kids Mission Christmas is the UKs biggest toy appeal. Cash for Kids are a grant making charity and help disadvantaged children in the UK. This could be through poverty, neglect, abuse or additional support needs. Many families are choosing between heating or food and Christmas is a luxury they cannot afford. I would like to thank Amazon Business for stepping up to help us. We currently have applications for 278,992 children. We have already fulfilled 80,225 orders but with a tight deadline of 19th December to enable us to sort an distribute the gifts to the beneficiaries we need everyone to help us. The teams are working flat out in difficult circumstances due to Covid-19 and are determined not to let these children down. If we can make one day different in a positive way and create a memory for them that is the least we can do.”

Beyond offering our logistics expertise and technical support, Amazon Business enlisted Bauer Radio’s Hits Radio presenter and actress, Gemma Atkinson, to help with the donations in our Manchester fulfilment centre.

This week, Gemma toured the site to get stuck into ‘Mission Christmas’ by stowing, picking and packing toys alongside our team.. The visit ended with the site General Manager, Darragh Kelly, announcing that the Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Manchester is donating an additional £5,000 to Mission Christmas.

Listeners can tune in to Hits Radio’s drive time show on Friday 10^th December from 4pm to 5pm, which will be dedicated to the Mission Christmas campaign. The live broadcast will include clips from Gemma’s fulfilment centre visit and give listeners an insight into the ‘journey of the toy’ that they are donating.

Visit the Mission Christmas storefront and donate a gift up until 15^th December.