Amazon is to donate more than 47,000sq ft of its new Seattle office to the Mary’s Place Family Shelter, housing more than 200 people every night.
The technology giant has previously shared space with the shelter, having given Mary’s Place temporary use of an old hotel on Amazon’s Seattle city centre campus, but it is now providing a permanent space for the charity, made up of 65 rooms.
The online retailer is currently in the midst of a massive wave of construction on new headquarters and offices in the US city, including an eye-catching triple-domed building that will house company offices, set to open in 2020.
“Mary’s Place does incredible, life-saving work every day for women, children and families experiencing homelessness in the Seattle community,” Amazon boss Jeff Bezos said.
New Amazon Headquarters in Seattle https://t.co/prwmExjOeK pic.twitter.com/HfAaIJQhTY
— Ricardo Vargas (@rvvargas) May 1, 2017
“We are lucky to count them as neighbours and thrilled to offer them a permanent home within our downtown Seattle headquarters – Amazon employees and Mary’s Place residents will move in together in early 2020.”In the meantime, Amazon will move the shelter to another former hotel, across the street from their current home, as building work begins on the permanent base.Marty Hartman, the executive director of Mary’s Place, said: “To have a permanent downtown Seattle location within Amazon is a game-changer for Mary’s Place and the families we serve.“We’ve loved being Amazon’s neighbour, and now the opportunity to move into their headquarters permanently is truly a dream come true. This unique, first-of-its-kind shelter will remind families that they matter and that their community wants to help them succeed.”
Seattle has been dealing with a homelessness crisis for several years – the city’s mayor declared a state of emergency in 2015 over the issue, and a 2016 report claimed more than 4,000 people were living on its streets.Amazon has also been criticised in the past over building in the city centre – activists have claimed the company’s presence has driven up property prices – so the announcement of space for Mary’s Place should gain the tech giant some goodwill.
