Amazing Amazon support for people with disabilities at Harlow Wood's Portland Charity

Portland Charity, also known as Portland College, is a specialist college and care provider which delivers a range of day and residential programmes for people with disabilities at its base in Harlow Wood, enabling them to lead more independent, fulfilling lives.

Since June 2023, Amazon in Sutton has donated £1,500 as well as £2,000 worth of Amazon Alexa technology. Amazon has also delivered more than 50 volunteering hours, where a team of Amazon employees joined forces to transform an outdoor garden and recreational space for Portland’s independent living citizens.

In addition to this generosity, the volunteers also upcycled several picnic benches, giving them a new lease of life and providing a fantastic outdoor social space for people with disabilities on campus.

To further support Portland, Amazon booked the charity’s fully accessible woodland adventure zone for a team fun event, where employees took part in various interactive team building activities and competitions.

Vivek Khanka, Amazon Sutton general manager, said, “Portland provides fantastic support for its young people, helping them develop their independence and employability skills. I am glad we could support them with this donation.”

Laura Levitt, who works at Amazon Sutton and nominated Portland for the donation, said: “As soon as I visited Portland, I knew I wanted to help. The atmosphere is incredible and the campus is filled with energetic, engaging and passionate staff. You can tell they all really care about their learners and citizens.”

Dr Mark Dale, Portland Charity principal and chief executive officer, said: “Our award-winning Maples SMARTHome uses Alexa technology and enables people and their families to experience this technology that can be easily replicated in their own homes for a very small investment.

“We are extremely thankful for the generous support from Amazon which will enable more disabled people to benefit from this technology to help them with daily tasks that can often be taken for granted. We’re excited to work in partnership with Amazon to identify other innovations for disabled people.”

Portland received the support as part of Amazon’s programme to support the communities in and around its operating locations across the UK.

Amazon is also providing disadvantaged students with online STEM courses as well as teaming up with charity partner Magic Breakfast and delivering more than six million healthy breakfasts to families in England.