An Amazon employee who goes the extra mile for the Coalville community has been nominated for a company national award.

Sophie Wileman, who works at Amazon's delivery station in Coalville as an apprenticeship co-ordinator, was nominated for the Amazon Star award by her colleagues

She has worked for Amazon since 2019 and devotes a lot of her spare time to charity work with the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA).  

Now in its third year, Amazon Stars is a UK-wide campaign that recognises and rewards Amazon employees who make an outstanding contribution to the local community by using their skills, time and knowledge to help others. 

Sophie's support of her community means she could win one of three Dream Boxes – the top prize awarded as part of the programme.

A Dream Box, worth up to £1,500, is a personalised prize to honour Amazon's community heroes - and Sophie will find out in the coming weeks if she has won it.

Sophie's work with the SSAFA includes mentoring ex-armed forces members, helping them readjust into society.

She meets with her mentee once a week and supports them with tasks such as finding housing, making friends and working towards personal goals.

Sophie has coached various veterans to help them apply successfully for positions that suit their skills, setting them up for success outside of the Forces. She also works with mentees suffering from challenging mental health conditions.

Sophie Wileman works at the Coalville fulfilment centre

Through her role as an apprenticeship coordinator at Amazon, she has also successfully coached seven of her colleagues and put many of them through master's degrees and other accredited certificates.

One of Sophie's previous mentees includes last year's Amazon Stars winner Aizaz Hussain.

 Sophie said: "Amazon has been so supportive of my volunteering work with SSAFA after I completed my training with the charity in May.

"The company offers a flexible working environment, and my manager is very caring and understanding of what I need to do to succeed inside and outside of work.

"The skills I've developed at Amazon, such as accountability, listening and coaching, have really helped with my volunteering through SSAFA as some of the mentees can have quite complex needs.

 "I really admire the opportunities Amazon provides for those coming out of the military, too, and am pleased to be involved in one small part of helping veterans adjust to civilian life through SSAFA, helping them work towards their goals outside of the military. The Amazon Military Programme offers members of the military community fantastic opportunities to pursue a wide range of exciting new career paths at Amazon.

"My work on the apprenticeship team is so rewarding and I'm proud to spread awareness about the coaching programmes available at Amazon, especially to those who don't yet recognise their potential. I am so pleased to have been nominated for an Amazon Star award as a result and want to thank my colleagues for the recognition."

Brian Mayo, Delivery Station Manager at Amazon in Coalville, added: "The Amazon Stars programme is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues who go above and beyond to have a positive impact on the community. Sophie does some incredible work with SSAFA and everyone at Amazon is proud of her. Sophie is fully deserving of this fantastic nomination, and I wish her the best of luck ahead of the big reveal of this year's winners."  

Last year, the three winners were: Aizaz Hussain, a spoken-word artist who dedicates his time and his art to helping people with mental health struggles; Phil Hayden, a dedicated NHS volunteer who has also made more than 600 blood donations over the past 36 years; and Richard Burtenshaw, a community children's football coach who found creative ways of keeping the players active during lockdown.