Zoom Partners with Together Campaign to Tackle Loneliness & Bring Communities Together in the UK

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic we made a commitment to do all we could to support communities through this time, and we recognise the immense responsibility that we have as a key service provider during this period of isolation. That commitment also extends beyond a technology layer.

Zoom is proud to announce our partnership with the Together campaign to fight loneliness and isolation over the 2020 holiday season and throughout 2021. The Together campaign is a UK coalition of charities, private organisations, and interfaith institutions that aim to help build a kinder and more connected society, at a local and national level, in the aftermath of COVID-19.

It brings together the NHS, the Royal Voluntary Service, national media, civil society, and voluntary organisations, including the Scouts, the National Lottery, and Clap for Carers, to encourage organisations and members of the public to reach out to those who may be feeling isolated.

This partnership is a recognition that our responsibility to the community extends well beyond the effects of the pandemic. 

This Christmas will be like no other, as many of us will be cut off from friends and family, just when we need them the most. However, this Christmas is also an opportunity to come together as a community, as many did at the beginning of the pandemic, to rekindle the spirit of looking after one another. That why we’re removing the 40-minute limit on free Zoom accounts for all meetings over the holiday period.

As part of the Together initiative, we are asking you to consider doing two simple things:

1. Reach out to someone who’d like to hear from you on Christmas Day. Make sure no one feels alone. It might be a neighbour who lives alone or is shielding, a family member you haven’t been in touch with for a while, or even someone you have fallen out with. Call them up or invite them to join a Christmas game online. It might just make their holiday.
   
2. Sign up as an NHS Volunteer Responder. The NHS Volunteer Responder programme is recruiting new volunteers across England to support those who need it, both this Christmas and during the coming months. You could pop round with their essential shopping – or festive treats – and have a doorstep natter (you’ll be matched to someone nearby), or you could have a friendly chat online. Go to nhsvolunteerresponders.org.uk/ChristmasTogether to volunteer. 

Even the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is supporting the campaign:

We understand that the pandemic has left many feeling isolated and lonely, as social contact with friends and family became an impossibility for many across the UK - with loneliness posing a very real risk to mental and physical health. 

At the same time, these unprecedented times have brought out the best in communities, with many people volunteering to help those at risk and going the extra mile to support each other. 

Looking to 2021, it is our mission of this partnership to put an end to loneliness in the UK once and for all. We will work with Together to build an education programme that will aim to bridge some of the divisions seen in our recent past and build a community spirit for a kinder, more connected society.

Alice Braybrook, Director of Together added: “This Christmas is going to be like no other. Zoom opening up their platform for Christmas will help thousands of people connect at a time when we can’t be together. It’s steps like this that will make a real difference. We’re looking forward to working with Zoom next year to do even more to reconnect us as we come out of the COVID crisis and build the kind of closer communities we all want to be part of.”

Learn more about Together and sign up at https://together.org.uk/