In a year that brought huge and unexpected difficulties for everyone, people across the UK rose to the challenge, offering each other a helping hand like never before. As lockdown restrictions continue to ease, we at Zoom in the UK want to take this time to step back and say thank you.
Whether it’s been supportive neighbours checking in, teachers providing lessons over Zoom, delivery drivers keeping our cupboards stocked, NHS staff and volunteers keeping us healthy, or family and friends keeping us connected – we all have somebody to thank.
As a proud partner of the Together campaign, a coalition of charities, private organisations, and interfaith institutions that aims to help build a kinder and more connected society, we are so excited to offer our support to Thank You Day on Sunday 4 July. On this day, we will join incredible organisations, including the NHS, Royal Voluntary Service, and the Scouts, as well as celebrity supporters like Dame Judi Dench, Sophie Ellis-Bexter, Michael Sheen, Tim Peake, and Bear Grylls, alongside tens of thousands of members of the public who signed up online, to say thank you.
At Zoom, we are hugely grateful to all the individuals and organisations who have helped to keep the country running during this past year, and we are proud of the small ways we’ve been able to support them.
Helping people to stay connected
At Zoom, we are committed to helping people to stay connected. That’s why, as well as our partnership with the Together campaign, we have partnered with Place2Be, a charity that provides mental health support for children in UK schools. Since September 2020, over 40,000 teachers have accessed Place2Be’s online mental health champions programme via Zoom.
In addition, we recently won the award for being the Scouts’ Most Impactful Partner after hosting 110,000 virtual Scout meetings and helping Scouting and girl guiding to continue during the pandemic.
We are proud that our service helps people to stay in touch with family, friends, and colleagues. For example, a survey of 7,689 people worldwide, carried out by Qualtrics Research, found that 89% of people in the UK agree that video communications can help combat loneliness and 75% agree that virtual and remote activities make them feel more connected with others. In a year when many were unable to spend time with loved ones, video communications has let people know that they are not alone.
Working with schools to provide lessons
Teachers, parents, and children all had the challenge of pivoting to homeschooling at the start of the pandemic. To help out, we made our basic account free for schools across the UK. This meant that students and teachers could focus on learning with unlimited secure meetings for up to 100 participants. Over the past year, we have seen the widespread adoption of technology in schools across the UK, with the use of educational technology soaring by 131% in 2020, and the majority of pupils relying on technology to support their learning.
Beyond the classroom, we continue to facilitate virtual parents’ evenings for those who cannot attend in person, whether due to work commitments, travel time, or caring responsibilities.
Helping the NHS to deliver essential services
Healthcare workers and NHS staff have been the heroes of the past 18 months, and we’re proud that we’ve been able to help them. During the pandemic, many healthcare providers successfully and quickly adapted to video conferencing. According to the UK’s Health and Social Care Minister Jo Churchill MP, in February 2021, 44.7% of GP appointments took place using remote consultation platforms. By enabling many non-urgent healthcare services to be delivered online, we’ve been able to help eliminate patients’ travel time, reduce distance to appointments, and increase access to specialists.
The pandemic has challenged people across the world in ways we never expected. For many of us, it has also brought us closer together – closer to our loved ones and to our local communities. That’s why we want to take this moment to pause and say thank you. We hope you’ll join us on Sunday 4 July so that we can do so together.
Further information
Learn more about Thank You Day here, or find updates at #ThankYouDay. You can also read more about Thank You Day in The Daily Mail, The Sun and The Times.
By: Charlotte Holloway
Title: Zoom Supports National Thank You Day in the UK
Sourced From: blog.zoom.us/zoom-supports-national-thank-you-day-in-the-uk/
Published Date: Fri, 02 Jul 2021 18:00:14 +0000