During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a wide variety of businesses and organizations stepped forward to provide free products, services, and digital resources to support individuals and communities through the crisis. These initiatives targeted different groups, including frontline healthcare professionals, essential workers, employees of major corporations, and the general public. The offers ranged from physical goods like food and footwear to digital platforms for collaboration and education. This article details the types of freebies available, the eligibility requirements for accessing them, and the specific programs offered by various companies, based on information from published lists and announcements during that period.
Freebies for Healthcare and Frontline Workers
A significant number of companies focused their charitable efforts on healthcare professionals, recognizing the immense pressure they faced. These offers were often designed to provide practical support or a measure of relief.
Tangible Goods and Services
For nurses and doctors on the front lines, several companies donated essential items and unique experiences.
- JINS Eyewear: The eyewear company offered healthcare workers a chance to receive a free pair of glasses. Due to an overwhelming response, the program was adjusted to select five winners per day. Applicants were required to enter their details on the company’s designated webpage, and the offer was available only while supplies lasted.
- Kizik Shoes: This shoe brand donated 1,000 pairs of its hands-free shoes to nurses and doctors fighting COVID-19. To request a free pair, eligible individuals had to fill out a form on the Kizik webpage. The form closed on April 24 at 11:59 PM MT, and selected recipients were to be contacted by May 1.
- Hertz Cars: In a program specifically for healthcare workers in New York City, Hertz provided a free rental car for an entire month. Interested parties were directed to the Hertz website to apply, though a note indicated that the deal limit had been reached.
- Masks by Decor8 Interiors: This company offered free masks to the healthcare industry. Due to high demand, the shipping date for these freebie masks was approximately nine weeks from the date of the request.
- TB12: Tom Brady’s fitness brand, TB12, offered a free virtual performance and recovery coaching session with a TB12 Body Coach to any healthcare member working to fight the pandemic. Instructions for booking the complimentary session were available on the TB12 website.
- Intelycare: Intelycare provided a 100% free COVID-19 Nurse Training Certification for nursing professionals. Upon completion of the training, participants also received one free contact hour.
Digital and Wellness Resources
Beyond physical goods, a variety of apps and digital services offered free access to support the mental and professional well-being of healthcare workers.
- Ten Percent Happier: Healthcare, grocery, and food delivery workers could receive free access to the Ten Percent Happier meditation app. To activate the offer, eligible individuals needed to fill out the appropriate form via the link provided.
- Speeko: This app, which coaches users on effective communication skills, offered free access to nurses, physicians, and other healthcare professionals through the end of 2020. A form on the Speeko link was required to get started. The company also maintained a free list of COVID-19 communication resources on its website.
- Supporti: The accountability partner app offered healthcare workers a free one-month subscription. To receive a special code for the offer, workers were instructed to contact Supporti at [email protected]. The app matches users with a one-on-one buddy for a week at a time to provide daily support.
- Knack: During Nurses Week, Knack ran a promotion to give away a Knack Pack. The public was invited to nominate their favorite nurse by filling out a form on the provided link, and Knack selected one winner per day.
Incentives for Vaccination
As COVID-19 vaccines became available, some businesses introduced promotional offers to encourage vaccination. These freebies were generally available to any member of the public who could show proof of vaccination.
- Krispy Kreme: The doughnut chain offered anyone with proof of a COVID-19 vaccination a free doughnut every day for the remainder of the year.
- Chagrin Cinemas: This Ohio-based movie theater offered free popcorn to moviegoers who showed their vaccination card. The promotion ran through the end of April.
- Market Garden Brewery: Located in Cleveland, this brewery offered 10-cent beers to the first 2,021 adults who presented their completed vaccination card.
- The Greenhouse of Walled Lake: This Michigan-based marijuana dispensary offered a free pre-rolled joint to anyone over the age of 21 with proof of vaccination. The promotion was titled "Pot for Shots" and was described as a thank you for helping to end the pandemic.
Employee-Focused Support Programs
Many large employers offered their own workers incentives to get vaccinated, providing time off or financial rewards.
- Kroger: The grocery chain awarded employees $100 in store credit in addition to a one-time $100 payment for receiving the vaccine.
- Other Major Employers: A growing list of companies, including AT&T, Instacart, Target, Trader Joe's, Chobani, Petco, Darden Restaurants, McDonald's, and Dollar General, were reported to be giving workers time off and extra money to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
Free Resources for Education and Remote Work
With schools and businesses shifting to remote operations, a large number of companies offered their software and platforms for free to support continuity in education and collaboration.
Educational Platforms and E-Textbooks
Several companies in the education sector provided free access to their learning materials and tools.
- Edco E-Textbooks (Ireland): The Educational Company of Ireland made its Primary, Junior Cert, and Leaving Cert e-textbooks available for free online for the duration of the pandemic. Users could log in with specific usernames for each level: "primaryedcobooks", "jcedcobooks", or "lcedcobooks". The password for all levels was "edco2020".
- Educate Plus E-Textbooks and Resources: Walsh Educational Books Ltd. offered Educate Plus’s e-textbooks and resources, which cover primary and post-primary levels in Irish schools, for free.
- FeedbackFruits: In response to the outbreak, FeedbackFruits made all of its pedagogical tools available for free to support teachers. Free access was provided until regular teaching could resume.
- AppsAnywhere: Software2 Inc. provided its software delivery platform for higher education free for 90 days. This allowed students to easily access the software they needed for their studies on any device.
Collaboration and Business Continuity Tools
A wide array of software platforms offered free licenses or expanded features to help organizations transition to remote work.
- Avaya Spaces: Avaya Inc. offered its cloud-based video conferencing and collaboration platform for free. The platform was normally priced from $6 per user per month.
- Klaxoon Suite: The Klaxoon suite, a cloud-based collection of remote collaboration apps, was made available for free.
- UXPressia: This collaborative platform for creating customer journey maps, personas, and impact maps offered a 50% discount. Its standard pricing was $20 to $24 per user per month.
- Tigunia Remote Access: Tigunia, LLC offered a free remote access package that included one hour of consulting, Microsoft Office 365 E1 team collaboration tools, and secure desktop access through Tigunia’s Hosted Remote Access Tool.
- Flock Pro: The team messenger and online collaboration platform Flock Pro was offered for free until the end of August for any organization fighting the spread of COVID-19, including education, healthcare, and human rights nonprofits. Its standard price was $4.50 per user per month.
- Igloo Business Continuity Bundle: Igloo Software, Inc. provided its Business Continuity Bundle—an intranet digital workspace solution—for free to keep employees informed and productive.
- GForge: This web-based collaboration and project management platform was offered for free.
- Zoom (Noted in Source Data): A note in the source material mentioned that schools, universities, and colleges could get a free Pro license for one year, including up to 100 web conferencing participants, though a direct link was not provided in the text.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a broad response from businesses to provide support through free offers. These initiatives were segmented by audience, with distinct programs for healthcare workers, the general public seeking vaccination, and employees of major corporations. A parallel effort focused on the educational and professional sectors, where a multitude of software and digital resource providers offered their platforms for free to ease the transition to remote learning and work. While many of these time-sensitive offers have concluded, they represent a significant period of corporate philanthropy and promotion tied directly to the public health crisis.