Amazons Bezos donates $97.5mln to charities helping homeless families

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos donated $97.5 million to 24 non-profit groups across the US as part of his vow to aid homeless families.

The 24 organisations are sprinkled across the US from California to North Carolina, ranging from the Catholic Charities Archdiocese to the Salvation Army and local family and housing services.

The awards are the first distribution from the $2 billion Day One Fund, which was launched by Bezos, whose personal fortune reached $126 billion and his wife last September, with a dual aim to provide aid for the homeless and to fund a network of non-profit preschools.

The fund aimed to “shine a light and support the organizations that are doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter for young families in communities across the country,” Bezos said.

The awarded charities provide emergency shelter “for families to get on their feet” and access to permanent housing and support services, Bezos said.

The donation came shortly after Amazon stated that it would open huge offices in New York and Virginia, triggering criticism over whether this would result in displacing local residents by jacking up housing costs.