Amazon’s Charity Fundraiser/Gift Wrapping program is diabolical
I just heard about this happening at Amazon’s Middletown facility. Can anyone spot the problem?
Amazon.com Offers Holiday Gift-Wrapping Program for Kentucky Nonprofits
By Wrapping Amazon Holiday Gifts, Groups Can Earn $$
LEXINGTON, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 5, 2007–As Amazon.com gets ready to delight millions of customers this holiday season, the company’s Lexington, KY, fulfillment center is offering nonprofit organizations the opportunity to earn extra money by having its volunteers gift-wrap products for Amazon customers.
The “Gift-Wrap Your Holidays with a Smile” program will earn the nonprofit organization between $.60 and $.75 for each item gift-wrapped by a volunteer. In 2006, more than $137,000 was donated to non-profits that participated in the Lexington program.
The program, which is open to all 501(c)3-certified organizations, will run from November 19 through December 22, 2007. Shifts range from a minimum of four hours to a maximum of 10, and organizations can send 5-20 volunteers for each shift.
“We’re thrilled to be able to offer ‘Gift Wrap Your Holiday Programs with a Smile’ for the third year,” said Michael Passales, General Manager, Lexington. “It’s a great way to put yourself in the holiday spirit and earn money for your charity at the same time.”
FYI, this is what they charge for gift wrapping:
Gift-Wrapping for All Occasions
Amazon.com gift-wrap is the perfect complement to any gift. We will select from our coordinating papers, boxes, bags and ribbon to make your gift special.Gift-wrap prices range from $3.99 to $5.99 per item, depending on size. Because of their size or shape, some items can’t be wrapped in paper or a box — so we’ll send them in a reusable, festive cloth gift bag. Extremely large items are not eligible for gift-wrap; if this is the case, it will be noted on the item’s detail page
I actually don’t see a problem. I probably missed it. I mean, Amazon is a pretty crappy company when it comes to labor treatment, but it isn’t like the volunteers would be doing normal warehouse functions. Due to the MUCH higher volume of work this time of year, I’m sure the already over-worked staff would enjoy a little relief on the gift-wrapping end. I suppose one would have to opt-in to gift wrapping, so it isnt like ever item bought has the potential to have a charity donation attached to it. what’s the fuss?
They have a profit center which should be providing seasonal jobs under the normally accepted rules capitalism. But they’ve figured out a dodge.
Until Amazon figure out how to get people to pay them to work there (Amazon University?) , this will have to do I guess.
I see that point…It strikes me as the same type of charity as a supermarket putting out food drive baskets. Yes, the supermarket would be acting more altruistically if they filled the baskets themselves without selling the food first, but since the alternative is no charity at all……
Malls have been doing this for years, sorry don’t see the huge issue.
Malls aren’t Amazon.
Barnes & Noble runs a fundraising program where non-profits can staff a gift wrapping table for some period of time. The store provides the giftwrap and the non-profit gets the money from the effort.
I have a buddy that is a picker at the Middletown warehouse. After his first couple of days at work he told me that he was walking almost every minute of his ten hour shift.
I gave him a pedometer that had been laying around. He tells me that he is averaging almost 22 miles a day walking!
That’s bunch of walking. He’s an optimist and says that when ski season arrives there won’t be anyone who can keep up with him!
I’ve done this. At the middletown facility (i guess? is there another one?) a few years back in college.
Overall it was a pretty miserable experience. Much different than a gift wrap table at a mall or in a store. We were on the warehouse floor in a little area apart from the workers but still in their general area. It was dark in there and the air was heavy with dust like when you’re around a bunch of cardboard. You just folded these little cardboard pouches with printed designs on them over and over.
I was happy to be out of there, and gave me a new found appreciation/empathy for the people who did that 40+ hours of their week. We didn’t do that fundraiser again.
So Amazon sells a service and gets volunteers to provide the service at a miniscule cost, but since the “wages” goes to charity the huge profit margin is OK. The fact the other companies do it or that you did it is, once again, an irrelevant argument…
…and, instead of paying into social security, Amazon gets to deduct the pittance being paid out to charities from state and federal taxes.
It is a genius racket. Someone should look into this bullshit. Too bad we don’t have a legislature or some elected body charged with representing the people who live here.
I don’t know if it even counts as a charitable donation. I did it with a sorority as a fundraiser, not a service project. Pretty sure that money went to our winter formal or something similar. We do have philanthropies projects, but this wasn’t one of them.
This story is just depressing, it goes to those out there that feel everyone should just be happy to have a job! It’s not as if they are giving all proceeds to the charity, only a portion.
Amazon is not a great company. They’re incredibly dickish to their employees, at least at the New Castle warehouse.
My former employer does a fair amount of business w/ the Sunday Breakfast Mission. I am an athiest, but the Mission does good work. Some of their program graduates work at the Amazon warehouse in New Castle. You’re late because (insert any reason here)? OK, you’re fired.
We’re surprised that a company that is planning on replacing delivery jobs with drones… is making a profit from volunteer labor?
This isn’t for charity per say….it is for non profits. This is not unlike many other functions you see with the same profit/wage split that you appear to see as sinful.
Most NFL/NBA/MLB & Concert venues do the exact same thing…. Your kid plays soccer?….Dances?….Cheerleading?….have tons of booster club money to PAY out of pocket, what if you could volunteer to serve beer at the Burger/beer stand at Klipsch Concert theatre, or the same at Conseco Fieldhouse during a Pacer’s game? Serve onion rings at a Colts game and beer along the way working in one of the venues….this is how it works nearly everywhere and Amazon is simply doing the same thing.
For years when our daughter was younger we worked the stands at the local concert venue (arena size) serving beer/food etc… the entire booth (30 ppl?) consisted of mothers and fathers of the same Cheerleading squad (travel club). At the end of the night the club gets 6% of the profits. At the end of concert season the booster club averages what a SHIFT equals in money, you get your SHARExSHIFT VALUE and can use to pay for almost anything (flight tickets to nationals, Disney passes while there, hotel rooms, new uniforms if they change next season or kids grows, etc) anything but monthly cost of being part of the studio. We would average 70-80 per shift. Currently my wife is wrapping at amazon on the midnight – 4am shift wrapping about 80 presents a shift for 1.00/present. If you want to just sock money away into this and have the pockets for it, no sweat – otherwise there is an option that perhaps your booster/studio/club just hasnt’ realized yet.
Why not get a part time job and just donate 100% of your earnings to the non-profit? Serious question.
Part time jpbs are relatively hard to get and require more committment, compared with 60 cents an hour gift wrapping.
This is purely exploitive. It’s how to hire someone without any level of accountability. It’s worse than the assault on minimum wage jobs.
The total deduction they claim means that we all pay for this with our tax dollars. It’s got the same flavor in the mouth of Walmart using taxpayers to pay their employees in food stamps…. Exploitive!
The solution is to support you local small businesses, even if that costs you a bit more. Screw Walmart. Screw Amazon.
Yeah. I’m not impressed with the defenses put forth. Amazon has the capacity to pay a living wage, it simply decided not to.