This past holiday season was record breaking for package delivery companies.

But even big companies like Amazon need a little help.

For the last two years it's brought on special delivery partners who help get packages delivered while also growing their own small businesses.

This program aims at building local businesses by helping entrepreneurs establish and run their own delivery business under Amazon. A spokesperson says it's been a good fit for military veterans.

And that's why Shawn Ikpa and his family moved from Georgia to Buffalo this past June to start their own delivery service program called Castle Top Logistics, and its run out of the Tonawanda station.

Shawn served in the Navy and then began working for Amazon after his service. Then he qualified for this program that launched in 2018 and he runs it with his brother Dez and his father, Donnie. These delivery service partners, like the Ikpa's, have generated $5 billion for small businesses and within their local economy.

“Here in New York, it has been a great transition for us,” Shawn said. “We are fortunate to have a really solid team in place that really welcomed us here. We have a great relationship with the Amazon team here, and they have been able to give us some tips and tricks to help us in our personal lives, but also in terms of operating with snow on the ground so it's been a great transition."

According to an Amazon spokesperson, since the program launched just over two years, there are now more than 1,700 partnered like the Ikpa's business across the U.S., Canada, UK, Spain, and Germany who have created over 100,000 jobs in their communities. These partners have delivered more than 2.2 billion packages worldwide.