Amazon pledges £1 million to The Prince’s Trust to support underserved young people across the UK

Inspirational figures, including Diary of a CEO creator Steven Bartlett and Brit Award-winner Jorja Smith, share advice to inspire young people to reach their full potential

Mind-positive merchandise including t-shirts and hoodies available to buy in support of The Prince’s Trust at amazon.co.uk/princestrust   

LONDON–JANUARY 3, 2024–AMAZON: Amazon has pledged £1 million to The Prince’s Trust’s new Strengthening Diversity Fund, to support underserved young people across the UK to build better futures for themselves.

The fund will help provide opportunities for young people from diverse backgrounds to succeed in education, employment, and entrepreneurship, with a range of tailored programmes available through the charity.

To mark the start of the commitment, Amazon and The Prince’s Trust have brought together some of the most inspiring names in the UK to share their advice for young people, including Diary of a CEO creator Steven Bartlett, Brit Award-winning artist Jorja Smith, and Guardians of the Galaxy star Will Poulter. The advice has been turned into art that will be displayed in schools around the country, with other names involved including Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford, TV presenter June Sarpong, music producer Naughty Boy, and celebrity entrepreneur Sara Davies.

Alongside this, a new line of mind-positive merchandise including t-shirts and hoodies designed by young ambassadors for The Prince’s Trust is also being made available to buy on Amazon in support of the charity. People can shop the range and find out more about the fund at amazon.co.uk/princestrust.

John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager at Amazon, said: “We are proud to be a platinum patron of The Prince’s Trust, and a founding partner of its Strengthening Diversity Fund – which supports underserved young people across the UK to build better futures for themselves. By sharing advice from inspirational people in schools around the country, we hope to light up imaginations, and help inspire young people to reach their full potential.”

Jonathan Townsend, UK Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust, said: “It is an honour to work with Amazon, and we are incredibly grateful for their commitment to The Prince’s Trust. Being able to inspire and motivate young people is a core part of our mission. The Trust’s programmes build confidence and skills among young people who face disadvantage and adversity, supporting them on their pathway to work. By partnering with those who share this goal we can continue our vital work, ultimately helping more young people to reach their potential and live stable and fulfilled lives.”

Over the last five years, four out of five of the young people who completed programmes with The Prince’s Trust moved into work, education or training. Research from Amazon also shows that 14 is the age when young people are most influenced by advice to help shape their future, with 78 per cent of teachers saying that high profile figures including entrepreneurs, athletes, and musicians positively influence their students in finding their career path and 80 per cent saying they help them to build better futures for themselves.

List of advice shared by inspirational figures:

Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur and podcaster: “Life’s too short to be anything other than yourself”

Jorja Smith, Grammy-nominated music artist: “Embrace your flaws, for they make you unique”

Greg Rutherford MBE, Olympic gold medallist: “Take a leap of faith”

June Sarpong OBE, TV presenter: “It’s for the taking”

Naughty Boy, music producer: “Value your imagination”

Sara Davies MBE, entrepreneur: “There is no right path”

Will Poulter, actor: “Trying your hardest is always enough”

– Ends –

About the research
The research was conducted by Censuswide in November 2023, and surveyed over 1,000 secondary school teachers and students in the UK in the UK. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles.

About Amazon UK
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalised recommendations, Prime, Fulfilment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.co.uk/about and follow @AmazonNewsUK.

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About The Prince’s Trust and the Strengthening Diversity Fund

The Prince’s Trust  
The Prince’s Trust believes that every young person should have the chance to succeed, no matter what their background or the challenges they are facing. We help those from disadvantaged communities and those facing the greatest adversity by supporting them to build the confidence and skills to live, learn and earn. 

The courses offered by The Trust help young people aged 11-30 to develop essential life skills, get ready for work and access job opportunities. We support them to find work because having a job or running a business can lead to a more stable, fulfilling life. 

Since The Trust was founded by HM The King in 1976, when he was HRH The Prince of Wales, we have helped more than a million young people across the UK, and three in four of those we supported over the last five years have moved into work, education or training. 

We are committed to enabling even more young people to create a better future for themselves. By helping young people today, the benefits for them, their communities and the wider economy will be felt for years to come. 

Further information about The Prince’s Trust is available at princes-trust.org.uk or on 0800 842 842.   

The Strengthening Diversity Fund
Every day, Prince’s Trust staff and volunteers deliver a range of tailored programmes and support that positively impact the lives of young people across the country.

Being able to access work, education or training can be life-changing for a young person, but not all young people have equal access to these opportunities. Persistent inequalities across society still prevent young people from particular backgrounds from building a better future for themselves, and The Trust is determined to help address this imbalance.

The Prince’s Trust has launched the Strengthening Diversity Fund; this fund will enable it to reach thousands more young people from underrepresented groups. The initiatives supported by the fund will help these young people to explore and fulfil their potential – to the benefit of their futures, their families and their communities – and boost representation where it is most needed.

How Amazon supports young people
In addition to supporting The Prince’s Trust, Amazon has reached over 500,000 students across the UK since 2019, through Amazon Future Engineer, its childhood-to-career computer science programme, designed to inspire, educate, and prepare students for fulfilling future careers. Through initiatives like virtual school trips to Amazon fulfilment centres, career talks delivered by Amazon employees, fully funded Python coding courses, and bursaries for women students from low-income households, Amazon is passionate about breaking down the barriers to opportunity, raising aspirations, and preparing young people for the future world of work.