Hundreds of children across the UK will enjoy a very special Christmas surprise as their usual teachers are replaced by stars taking part in Amazon’s ‘Very Important Breakfast (VIB) Clubs’.
Co-hosted by charity partner Magic Breakfast, which provides healthy breakfasts to tens of thousands of children in disadvantaged areas of the UK, these exclusive, celebrity surprise lessons for schools were created to mark the two millionth meal delivered by Amazon this year and form part of a Christmas programme of donations by Amazon.
Stars such as Joe Sugg and Dianne Buswell, Professor Green, Dr. Ranj, Lia Lewis, and Rachel Riley will be teaching ‘VIB Clubs’ at schools across the country this Christmas, with lessons on everything from Maths and Biology to freestyle football, jiving and rap.
"No child should start their day hungry,” said Joe Sugg. “Dianne and I teamed up with Amazon and Magic Breakfast, who have delivered more than two million healthy meals to children this year alone, to create a Very Important Breakfast Club and help make sure children across the UK start their day with a healthy breakfast. I can't think of a better way to start the day than with a dance and breakfast, so I hope the children taking our Very Important Breakfast Club enjoy learning this special festive jive."
“I'm so pleased Joe and I could be a part of Amazon and Magic Breakfast's Very Important Breakfast Clubs,” added Dianne Buswell. “We had a ball creating and teaching our Christmas jive and most importantly, we’re helping to raise funds to ensure thousands of children can start their day with the fuel they need."
Following e-visits to selected schools, the clubs will be made available on the Amazon YouTube channel to bring some Christmas magic to all children for free this festive season.
Magic Breakfast is among the thousands of charities around the world receiving millions of items through product and monetary donations from Amazon this festive season.
Star-studded lessons
To start the day with a lesson like no other, children at schools in Doncaster, Poole, Brent, Scunthorpe and Edinburgh will be surprised with virtual visits from:
- Joe Sugg, one of the UK’s biggest YouTubers and 2018’s Strictly Come Dancing runner-up, will be joined by his partner Dianne Buswell to treat the class to a cha-cha-rming dance lesson in the first VIB Club.
- Professor Green, the multi-platinum rapper and songwriter and mental health advocate, will be getting down with the kids to come up with some new rhymes in his freestyle rap session.
- Dr Ranj Singh, the NHS doctor and BAFTA award-winning TV presenter, will be beamed in with a brain-busting lesson in biology.
- Rachel Riley, Countdown presenter and the nation’s favourite mathematician, will be playing the numbers game in her lesson, showing maths is ‘easy as Pi’.
- Lia Lewis, British freestyle footballer and TikTok superstar, will kick-start the school day by teaching freestyle flair. With shin bounces, sole stalls and rainbow flicks all on the lesson plan, it will be a PE class with the wow factor!
Delivering two million healthy meals
The ‘Very Important Breakfast (VIB) Clubs’ are a way for Magic Breakfast and Amazon to mark delivering over two million meals since the start of the pandemic, while bringing joy and smiles to school children across the country. When schools shut earlier this year due to COVID-19, Amazon worked with Magic Breakfast to deliver food parcels directly to the doorsteps of thousands of children around the UK.
Now, Amazon is helping Magic Breakfast to digitise classrooms, providing thousands of children across the UK with STEM equipment including coding robot kits, as well as training that they would not otherwise have access to. Amazon will also be expanding its partnership with Magic Breakfast to continue to deliver healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger throughout the rest of the school year and school holidays.
“No child should be too hungry to learn, and we’re proud to help Magic Breakfast deliver meals to children at risk of hunger across the UK,” said John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon.
“When COVID-19 meant schools had to close, we made it our mission to reach as many children as possible at home, delivering food parcels directly to the doorstep of thousands of vulnerable children,” John added. “This Christmas, we have created Very Important Breakfast Clubs to bring joy to children, schools and families across the UK, underpinning our ongoing commitment to deliver fuel for learning across the rest of the school year, including the holidays.”
Supporting Magic Breakfast with Amazon
Magic Breakfast is among the thousands of charities around the world receiving millions of items through product and monetary donations from Amazon this festive season. Across Europe, Amazon committed €21 million to support those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and in the UK, as well as increasing support for Magic Breakfast, Amazon is donating to help organisations which are supporting communities directly impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
Customers can support Magic Breakfast by donating online or by choosing Magic Breakfast as their charity on Amazon Smile (available on the desktop site and the Amazon UK app), where customers can shop with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to a charity of their choice.
“We’ve worked with Amazon for over four years and, in 2020 alone, together we’ve delivered two million breakfasts to vulnerable children which is just astonishing,” said Alex Cunningham, CEO of Magic Breakfast. “After a challenging year, ending with the cancellation of many school celebrations, we hope that our VIB Clubs with Amazon will give children a reason to smile this Christmas, as well as raising funds and awareness for the most vulnerable in our communities. None of this would have been possible without our partnership with Amazon, so thank you to Amazon for their unwavering support and helping us end a difficult year with some Christmas magic."
Festive giving this Christmas
The Magic Breakfast partnership expansion and ‘VIB Clubs’ form part of Amazon’s Christmas programme of donations. These donations include delivering STEM gifts to children supported by Barnardos; supporting DePaul with the essential work the charity does to provide emergency housing, item donation and support structures for families and young people; helping the British Red Cross with its logistical support for the NHS including delivering medicine and getting patients home from hospital, as well as providing thousands of care packages for the elderly and isolated. Amazon is also working with NHS Charities Together, to provide gifts for children who are in isolation or cannot leave hospital this Christmas and to support the elderly during the festive season, as well as supporting Home Start by sending Christmas donations to local branches of the charity across the UK.
Find out more: Amazon’s actions to help employees, communities and customers during COVID-19.
