Amazon is donating more than $2.5 million to bolster its commitment to students from underserved communities in the Seattle region and help meet their needs during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced Thursday.
Amazon is expanding its Right Now Needs Fund, which was established in 2018 with a $2 million investment to the Alliance for Education to help Seattle Public Schools students meet basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, school supplies and more. Amazon announced an additional $1.3 million for the non-profit, to aid students across 104 schools.
The tech giant is also launching a new Right Now Needs Fund in Bellevue, Wash., donating more than $1.4 million to Bellevue LifeSpring to support students in 29 Bellevue School District schools through 2022.
Specialists within each of the districts and schools work with families on identifying needs and put in requests for financial assistance through their respective non-profit partner, Amazon said in a news release. In addition, any school community member can put in a request if they notice a specific student need.
Amazon has responded to COVID-19 with several philanthropic initiatives, including the donation of more than 13,000 laptops to students and distribution of more than $5 million worth of Amazon devices to healthcare workers and non-profits. The company announced early on in the health crisis that it was donating $5 million to small businesses around its Seattle headquarters impacted by thousands of tech workers telecommuting because of the outbreak.
