Title:Amazon Donates 2,000 Kindle Devices to Wounded Service Members Ahead of Veterans Day and Commits to Hiring At Least 1,200 Veterans in Upcoming Year
Date:November 2012
Source:Business Wire
Amazon will donate 2,000 Kindle devices to non-profit Operation Homefront to support wounded service members and their families. The company also pledged to hire at least 1,200 veterans in the next 12 months.
Amazon is committed to supporting veterans as they transition from military life to civilian life and is excited to donate 2,000 Kindle devices to the wounded warriors at Operation Homefront, an organization dedicated to supporting our nation's military," said Dave Clark, Amazon's vice president of global customer fulfillment. "As we continue to create jobs in the U.S., we want to ensure that our nation's veterans know that Amazon is a destination where they can turn their unique skillsets into a robust career."
"Many of our service members, who faced challenges abroad, return home to find a whole different set of trials as they work to figure out how their specific military skill set translates into a civilian job," U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chairman of Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee said. "I applaud companies like Amazon for committing to help our military heroes adjust to being home by ensuring they have access to quality employment."
Amazon currently employs hundreds of self-identified veterans in its 40 U.S. fulfillment centers and pays its full-time, permanent employees 30 percent more than what traditional retail store employees earn. Amazon has a team made up of veterans that is devoted to military recruitment and offers its veteran employees access to mentoring and career support to help them develop their skills into long-term careers at Amazon. In 2011, Amazon launched a Virtual Contact Center enabling employees to work from home while providing customer service support, and has actively recruited military spouses and wounded warriors into those roles.
"It's very fitting that we recognize Amazon's support of our wounded service members and their families as we near Veterans Day," said Jim Knotts, president and CEO of Operation Homefront. "These Kindle devices will greatly enhance their quality of life as they progress through their challenging recovery process."
"Once finished with military service, most veterans search to find another meaningful mission. They want to ensure their work has a continued sense of purpose," said Josh Teeter, a former enlisted Army soldier who began his Amazon career as a temporary fulfillment center associate and now leads one of the company's largest fulfillment centers as a general manager. "Amazon's commitment to hiring and developing veterans reflects its customer-centric focus and has provided me with the career opportunities to succeed."
