Children from Hull and across South Yorkshire had a special Christmas surprise when they made a visit to Amazon in Doncaster iPort to take part in a Christmas-themed day of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fun with Barnardo’s.
Pupils from St Anthony’s Catholic Primary School in Hull joined children from the Barnardo’s Priory Family Centre in Barnsley to visit the Amazon fulfilment centre as part of a programme called Amazon Future Engineer.
Amazon Future Engineer is one of several STEM programmes run by Amazon in the UK and is aimed at inspiring, educating and enabling 10,000 children to try computer science over the next two years. Amazon’s STEM programmes are endorsed by the British Science Association.
During their visit to Amazon, the boys and girls visited Santa’s Grotto and took part in a Christmas-themed STEM workshop where some of them programmed robots, had a tour of the fulfilment centre, and learned about technology.
At the end of their special tour, the children had a Christmas party with some of the team at Amazon and Father Christmas. The children took home their own STEM-themed Christmas presents, which included LEGO sets and activity books.
During the Christmas visit, Amazon also announced it had made a donation of £30,000 to Barnardo’s to help the charity continue its work with vulnerable children across the UK. The donation will support Barnardo’s work transforming the lives of vulnerable children, young people and families across the UK.
Mark Keeney, Site Leader at Amazon Doncaster iPort, added: “Barnardo’s mission to transform the lives of the vulnerable children in our society really strikes a chord with Amazon and it’s an honour to partner with them for the Christmas STEM activity. Our team had a great time welcoming the boys and girls to our fulfilment centre and it was amazing to see the joy on their faces as they programmed robots, met Father Christmas and opened their presents.
“We share the charity’s vision to create a brighter future for our children and I hope the children enjoyed their visit to Amazon. On behalf of everyone at Amazon in Doncaster, I’d like to wish the children and the team at Barnardo’s a very Merry Christmas.”
Paddy Griffiths, Head of Corporate Partnerships at Barnardo’s said: “I’d like to say a big thank you to Mark and the team for hosting this special event for our children and to the wider Amazon team for the incredibly generous donation. It’s fantastic to receive support like this from a company like Amazon and I hope the visit to the fulfilment centre has a lasting impact on the children.”
The event and donation forms part of the ‘Amazon in the Community’ programme whereby the company supports the communities around its operating locations across the UK.
