In a world where lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders restrict physical movement, digital technology is filling the void to keep households connected, supplied, entertained and informed.
But amid the increased demand for digital products and services — and the logistical challenges associated with a massive work-from-home transition — many San Francisco tech companies have not forgotten those who are struggling right now. We asked local tech leaders to describe how they’re giving back to their communities during this uncertain season, and the responses offer a fine example of the city’s wealth of ingenuity.
Know of a team or company that’s going above and beyond right now? Share the love using #UnitedWeTech.
How is your team giving back to the local community right now, and why?
As a member of the healthcare community, the team at Alto is leveraging our courier delivery fleet model to bring much-needed supplies to our colleagues working on the front lines. We launched a personal protective equipment (PPE) donation program in the San Francisco Bay Area last week and hope to expand it to other communities in the coming weeks. In just over one week of coordinating PPE donations to hospitals, we’ve run more than 60 individual donation pick-ups, accounting for more than 1,700 masks, 11,000 gloves and various other supplies.
How have you adapted, expanded or changed your charitable giving initiatives in light of recent events?
Alto is most successful when our communities are healthy, safe and thriving. We see this moment as a chance to connect our resources and operations infrastructure with problems worth solving — for example, connecting private supplies of PPE with healthcare organizations. We’ll continue to look and listen for other ways that we can help our colleagues in healthcare and the communities that we serve.
How is your team giving back to the local community right now, and why?
We launched a charitable program in March that is running through the end of April, where we will be donating $1 to the CDC Foundation for every time one our members posts their workout to our Facebook community or on Instagram using the hashtag #TonalGivesBack.
Before the shelter-in-place orders were mandated we also started a new free feature for the members in our Facebook community called The Daily Pause, which is a daily guided meditation from one of our coaches that is intended to help people take the edge off during these stressful times and focus part of their day on physical and mental recovery. We’ve also provided some of our yoga classes for free on our Tonal YouTube channel.
How have you adapted, expanded or changed your charitable giving initiatives in light of recent events?
We had previously done a #TonalGivesBack initiative where we donated the proceeds to KEEN SF, a program that supports disabled youth by providing them with free and fun exercise and fitness programs. As a wellness-focused company, we wanted to be able to support the CDC’s efforts through this challenging time in a way that also provides some additional motivation to our members while allowing them to work out from the safety and comfort of their own home.
How is your team giving back to the local community right now, and why?
Digit is doing everything we can to help people during this strange and difficult time. On March 26, we released a coronavirus relief hub, for members and non-members alike, with links to helpful and pertinent information on current employment opportunities and expanded unemployment benefits, paid and family sick leave, how to protect your home and utilities, how to manage debt and taxes and general acts of kindness to help people feel better. The hub also includes some helpful pointers on how to use Digit to protect and secure your finances by adjusting automatic savings levels, preventing overdrafts and keeping users generally informed on the state of their financial health. Digit has been updating the relief hub and plans to do so regularly to provide a single source for some of the most important updates, tools and resources people need during this tough time. The Digit team is working hard to expand how it is helping people weather the financial storm and will continue to share updates.
How have you adapted, expanded or changed your charitable giving initiatives in light of recent events?
Digit is working on several new initiatives to help its members feel in control of their finances in these challenging economic times, including potential new partnerships and improving the flexibility of Digit to accommodate members who have been impacted.
