Council Corner: New charitable donation opportunities

We are excited to announce that the Osceola Council on Aging (OCOA) has recently partnered with AmazonSmile, the philanthropic charity arm of the online shopping giant, Amazon, for a unique charitable donation opportunity.

AmazonSmile, offers the same product selections, pricing, and convenient shopping features as Amazon.com. The difference between the two is while shopping on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5% of the purchase price (on all eligible products) to the charitable organization of the customer’s choice, with no fees or extra costs charged to the customer. This charitable donation program is just one additional opportunity in which friends and supporters in the Osceola community can support our social service organization by simply shopping on Amazon.

“The Osceola Council on Aging is the perfect ‘charity of choice’ for the AmazonSmile program,” said Rayelynne Ketchum, president of the OCOA Board of Directors. “It is a win-win as everyone seems to shop online with Amazon. We hope everyone will become connected with this donation program to support the Osceola Council on Aging.”

Funds from the AmazonSmile charitable program will be distributed for general OCOA needs including nutrition, transportation, adult day care, home care services, housing, and our newly created pet corner. Accordingly, the OCOA has also created a ‘wish list’ on the ecommerce site for products including items for Meals on Wheels, various cleaning supplies, and even therapeutic products for our senior patients. To see our ‘wish list,’ go to https://osceolagenerations.org/donate/

So, how do you shop with AmazonSmile? Simply, sign onto smile. amazon.com on your desktop or mobile phone browser. You will be directed to a link which will ask for the charity of your choice. Search for ‘Osceola County Council on Aging Inc., Kissimmee, Florida’ to be directed to the OCOA AmazonSmile link. Additionally, smile. amazon.com can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones.

Important to note, recurring subscribe-and-save purchases, subscription renewals, and products ordered which are canceled and/or returned will not be credited for the AmazonSmile program. Additionally, purchases through AmazonSmile are not tax deductible.

We hope the OCOA’s partnership with AmazonSmiles becomes a long-term, successful opportunity for charitable donations, and we thank Amazon for accepting our organization as a charitable donation partner. Similarly, we have partnered with Walgreens on a shorterterm donation platform titled ‘MyWalgreens’ which runs through the end of August.

Traditionally, when shopping at Walgreens, customers earn one percent in Walgreens Cash rewards for every dollar spent if their MyWalgreens membership card is used. There is now an option for this cash to be distributed to a local charity. As a result, MyWalgreens is another chance to support the OCOA by donating your unneeded Walgreens Cash Rewards. Though temporary, this opportunity expires on Aug. 31, 2022. To learn more, visit walgreens.com/mywalgreens

The OCOA could not continue to provide our multitude of services to the Osceola community without our valuable team of staff, contractors, employees, volunteers, and the consistent support from our community partners. We thank-you in advance for supporting the OCOA utilizing these charitable donation opportunities through AmazonSmiles and MyWalgreens.