PORTLAND, Maine — You are reading this, which means you may be taking a break from Amazon's Prime Day push. Not to encourage you to buy more, but there is an option to give back to your favorite Maine non-profit or charity while snagging the best deal online.
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If you shop through AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchase to the charitable organization of your choice, according to Amazon. There is no difference in the shopping experience, but you can select or search for an organization prior to buying.
There is an option to select a spotlighted charity, or you can type in Maine into the search bar.
The Junior League of Portland, ME put out a plea on Facebook to support its cause. Eliza Warren Giberson, the president of The Junior League of Portland, says their organization sees donations all year long, but an influx through AmazonSmile Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.
“Having a tool like Amazon Smile allows for folks to build in philanthropy to an everyday activity, something like shopping online," said Giberson. "It’s really user-friendly and every little bit allows us to do that much more work in the community.”
The Junior League of Portland is nearly a century-old organization run entirely on donations and volunteers. It has over 250 members and promotes community development by training women to be effective volunteers. Amazon Smile is one way they can keep up with the times.
“We are always looking to build in those best practices and what’s new in philanthropy, trying to keep our program really fresh and find lots of ways for people to give that is meaningful to them,” said Giberson.
There are over 6,000 charities in Maine listed on AmazonSmile, according to Amazon.
