What if for every dollar you spend, you’d be contributing 5 cents to your favorite sport; soaring? For example, if you bought the new Glider Flying Handbook, you’d be contributing $0.85 to the SSA (while getting a $24.95 reduction off list price). Or let’s say you bought a new tablet for $300, you’d be contributing $15 to our great sport! Amazon.com just launched AmazonSmile, a new program that makes it easy for customers to support their favorite charitable organizations every time they shop. Customers who visit AmazonSmile (smile.amazon.com) will find the exact same Amazon they usually shop (same prices, same selection) but with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to their favorite charitable organization. There is no cap on the total donation amount and customers can choose from nearly one million organizations around the country; including a few soaring related associations such as the Soaring Society of America and the AOPA. Here’s how to get started:

1. Navigate to http://smile.amazon.com. Remember you have to shop through smile.amazon.com and not the regular www.amazon.com for this to work! So please update your bookmarks.
2. Enter your username and password in the Sign In form. You can also register for a new account if you’re a first time Amazon customer.
3. Next you can select one of the featured charities or you can search for a different charity. E.g. enter “Soaring Society” or “AOPA” and hit search.
4. Select the appropriate charity by hitting the “Select” button next to your charity’s name. The top of the page should now display your charity’s name. You’re now ready to make your dollars count towards flying.

And remember: Come back to smile.amazon.com if you want Amazon to donate 0.5% of your AmazonSmile purchase price to the Soaring Society of America.

Amazon Press Release: Amazon Launches AmazonSmile – A Simple, Automatic Way For Customers To Support Their Favorite Charitable Organizations