Homeless charity welcomes £4,000 donation from Amazon's Hemel Hemsptead team

The staff and volunteers at a homeless charity in Dacorum have received a £4,000 donation from the Amazon fulfilment centre in Hemel Hempstead.

DENS is the first port of call for people in Dacorum who are facing homelessness, poverty and social exclusion.

The charity empowers the people it supports to take positive steps and works closely with them to help rebuild their lives and become active members of the community.

DENS’ services provide a range of options, which together form a pathway to support individuals including a Foodbank, Day Centre, and a 44-bed Hostel in Hemel Hempstead, The Elms.

The donation from Amazon will help to meet the increasing demands which the Foodbank is facing during the COVID-19 pandemic and will allow its Hostel to stay open for its 44 residents, with isolation rooms as needed.

Fran Martin, head of fundraising and communication at DENS, said: “We are seeing an unprecedented increase in the demand for our services and this donation from Amazon in Hemel Hempstead will help us to ensure we keep our frontline services running and continue to support people facing homelessness and poverty in our community.

"Thank you to Mark and his team from everyone here at DENS. We are truly grateful for your support.”

This donation forms part of the ‘Amazon in the Community’ programme, whereby the company supports the communities around its operating locations across the UK.

Community donations is one of a number of ways in which Amazon is supporting communities across the UK during COVID-19.

Mark Keeney, site leader at Amazon in Hemel Hempstead, said: “DENS is a charity that plays such an integral role in our community, by giving people the opportunity to get back on their feet.

"We’re pleased to play a small part in helping DENS sustain the support it provides during these unprecedented times.”

Amazon has joined a coalition of companies, universities, and research institutions to boost testing capacity for COVID-19. Amazon’s logistics network, along with Royal Mail, will deliver test kits to critical workers and diagnostic sites set up around the UK.

Amazon is also providing free online STEM resources to students in lower-income communities to enable learning to continue during school closures and is working with charity partner Magic Breakfast to ensure they can continue to provide free breakfast provisions to children in disadvantaged areas.

For more details about DENS visit: www.dens.org.uk.

For more information on how Amazon is supporting the UK during COVID-19, click here.