Wiltshire Air Ambulance 'disappointed' as Amazon ends scheme that raised thousands

Wiltshire Air Ambulance has announced it is "disappointed" at Amazon's decision to shut down a charitable programme that has helped them raise more than £8000.

From February Amazon will close down its 'Smile' programme which gave users the option of donating 0.5% of every spend to charity.

The scheme, which has been running for ten years, will be rolled back in February.

In an email to Smile users, the company said “In 2013, we launched AmazonSmile to make it easier for customers to support their favourite charities. However, after almost a decade, the programme has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped.

"With so many eligible organisations — more than one million globally — our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin.

“We are writing to let you know that we plan to wind down AmazonSmile by February 20, 2023. We will continue to pursue and invest in other areas where we’ve seen we can make meaningful change”.

However, Wiltshire Air Ambulance said that they are disappointed with the decision.

In a statement, it said: "We're very grateful to everyone who has helped raise funds for Wiltshire Air Ambulance via AmazonSmile over the years. To date, AmazonSmile has helped to generate over £8,800 towards our lifesaving service in Wiltshire, Bath and surrounding areas”.

“It is disappointing the service is coming to an end next month and we would advise our donors of sites like Easy Fundraising and Give as you Live to continue supporting our charity through their online shopping."

Amazon users online have expressed their anger at the decision.