Amazon Grants $9 Million to Support Nonprofits and Community Groups

To stamp the anniversary of its having chosen National Landing in Arlington, Virginia, as the site of its subsequent central command, Amazon has declared awards adding up to $9 million on the side of not-for-profits and local gatherings serving the area.

To assist families in need of immediate legal assistance with housing-related issues, the company awarded grants of $750,000 to Legal Services of Northern Virginia, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Bread for the City's Legal Clinic, and the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia. "With the significant increase in eviction cases caused by COVID-19, the number of underrepresented litigants is just getting worse," said Jim Ferguson, executive director of Legal Services of Northern Virginia. "Amazon's timely and generous support is an emphatic action to reverse that negative trend. We will be able to hire more lawyers, and far fewer low-income families will end up on the street. It is hard to adequately convey just how grateful we are for this generosity that will have such a deep and immediate impact."

The online retailer likewise granted awards adding up to $1 million to Bridges to Independence, Offender Aid and Restoration, and the Arlington Branch NAACP Scholarship Program on the side of racial value and network strengthening activities; awards adding up to $1 million to the Arlington Free Clinic, Alexandria Neighborhood Health, Children's National Hospital, and the Virginia Hospital Center; and awards adding up to $500,000 to La Cocina VA, DC Central Kitchen's Culinary Job Training Program, and the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia.