Former Royal Navy Officer Dan Marsden has been named as one of the Amazon Stars for 2023 in recognition of his work raising money for various charities, including baby loss charity Tommy’s, which conducts research into miscarriage and prevention.
Dan received one of the top prizes from this year’s Amazon Stars campaign, a personalised Dream Box worth £1,500. Amazon Stars is a UK-wide campaign which celebrates incredible Amazon employees who are making a difference to their community through volunteering, fundraising and helping others.
Dan, who works as a Reliability and Maintenance Engineering Technician in Warrington, spent eight years in the Royal Navy before joining Amazon in 2018. Having been personally impacted by miscarriage, he has gone on to raise thousands of pounds for charities helping people in similar situations.
Helping others in a similar situation: Dan's work for Tommy's
“Unfortunately, my wife and I have struggled to conceive,” he said. “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.
“Around the same time, my friend’s sister lost a baby prematurely through stillbirth. We’re both gamers, so we decided to come together and do a 24-hour charity gaming stream to raise money for Tommy’s and Sands, another baby loss charity. Collectively we raised around £3,000.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t received support for the things I have been through, so it is important to me to raise awareness and give back.”
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.
“When you think about miscarriage, you don’t realise how much it affects men – but it does. Doing this has opened my eyes to how many people have gone through something similar to me. When I started fundraising, my experience was hard to talk about. It still is, honestly, but I think it’s so important for there to be men talking about how hard baby loss is.”
For 2024, Dan has even more fundraising events planned.
“Next year, we are hoping to go bigger and take on a mountain every month, including Mount Olympus in Greece, for Maggie’s Cancer Charity. Mount Olympus is a bucket list thing for me, so I’m really excited about that.”
Dan was nominated by Paul Moss, Senior Engineering Technician. On his nomination, Paul said. “The nomination for Dan was easy for me, his story is so important for people to hear. He has been an incredible voice for those people in raising awareness for others who have experienced baby loss, and through his charity work, he has shown support for so many who have gone through the ordeal.
“I am proud of Dan and look forward to seeing his charity work grow bigger and bigger each year to reach more people who need the same help he did, and I will be there to support him in his journey.”
As an Amazon Stars winner, Dan received a brand-new gaming set-up, along with new gear for his hike up Mount Olympus next year. In addition, a £1,000 donation was made to both Maggie’s and Tommy’s on his behalf.
Amazon employees in the company’s UK and Ireland network do exceptional work to deliver for customers and extend their efforts to support their communities. So, in 2020, Amazon Stars was created to recognise and reward employees who go above and beyond both inside and outside of Amazon.
Hundreds of nominations were received in the UK and Ireland this year, with a huge number of inspiring stories of outstanding Amazon employees who go out of their way to help their colleagues, customers and communities.
Read more about the winners and nominees for Amazon Star 2023.
