With more of us shopping online than ever before, and many of us now on first name terms with our postal workers and delivery drivers, we’d like to show how easy it is to turn parcels into pounds without paying a penny, by shopping with Amazon Smile or Give as you Live.
With more of us shopping online, and our movement towards a cashless society, the days of dropping change into countertop charity collection tins are somewhat behind us.
That’s where Amazon Smile and Give as you Live come in – they’re essentially the collection tins of the modern age! When you shop for eligible products or in eligible stores, these services make donations to charities on your behalf, at no cost to you.
When we all work together, these small consistent donations can make a real difference to NYAS, and the children and young people that we support!
So, how do they work?
Amazon Smile
Shopping with Amazon Smile is exactly like shopping with Amazon – same products, prices and service, but with the added bonus of a 0.5% donation being made to a charity of your choice, each time you make an eligible purchase! Together, Amazon shoppers have raised over £9 million for their chosen charities and you can easily see your impact, as Amazon keeps a running tally of all you’ve raised.
To set it up, simply head to the Amazon Smile website, and select NYAS to start generating donations for us. If you shop using your internet browser, you’ll need to head to smile.amazon.co.uk each time you shop to generate donations – add it to your bookmarks bar so you don’t forget!
If you shop via the Amazon app, you can turn on the ‘Amazon Smile’ setting, which means every time you shop via the app you’ll be generating donations on any eligible products you buy, without having to remember to visit Amazon Smile first. Once you’ve chosen your charity by visiting the Amazon Smile website, you can go to settings in the main menu of the app, tap ‘Amazon Smile’ and follow the instructions to get started!
Give as you Live
Give as you Live is a similar service, except once you’ve signed up you can shop at over 4,500 shops online, including big names like ASOS, Currys PC World, Booking.com and more! Each participating retailer offers a different percentage donation and the percentage you see, is the percentage that NYAS receives.
For example, Expedia are offering a donation of up to 3.5%! So if you imagine spending £1,000 with them on a holiday, this could raise £35 for NYAS which could fund 7 calls to our helpline, helping young people get vital advice and support!
To use Give as you Live, you need a create a free account by visiting their website and then start at the Give as you Live website each time you shop online. To shop, search the Give as you Live directory and find the retailer you’re looking for. Give as you Live will then take you through to their website, so your shopping experience remains exactly the same, but now Give as you Live will receive commission from that store for ‘referring you’ and they pass that money on to us as a donation.
When you sign up you can turn on reminders for your browser, so if you’re shopping online with an eligible retailer, Give as you Live will send you a quick notification so you don’t miss out on a potential donation!
At a time when we’re all feeling the pinch, this is a great way to support charities at no cost to you. If you need any more information or help getting started please contact the fundraising team, fundraising@nyas.net who will be glad to assist you. Thank you!
