{"id":10627,"date":"2020-06-26T07:21:40","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T06:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/?p=10627"},"modified":"2023-01-16T17:04:20","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:04:20","slug":"communities-stay-connected-during-lockdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/communities-stay-connected-during-lockdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Communities Stay Connected during Lockdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lockdown knocked us all for six. Isolation measures pressured communities through the necessity of social distancing and the threat of contagion. Fortunately, we were able to mitigate difficult effects like loneliness or stress and feelings of isolation through virtual face-to-face connections. Video conferencing capability played a large part in this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To help support groups stay operational, RingCentral offered free licences to certain sectors, and they were picked up by a large number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/cloud-communications-solutions-for-healthcare.html\">healthcare<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/cloud-education-solutions.html\">education<\/a> and non-profit groups to maintain their essential services to the community. Here are three such stories.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radha Krishna Temple<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Volunteers support <a href=\"https:\/\/www.balhammandir.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Radha Krishna Temple<\/a> in London.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When the lockdown rules came into effect, places of worship were closed to the public, and Radha Krishna Temple dutifully closed its doors. This had a profound effect on some members of the temple\u2019s community, particularly the elderly members of the congregation.<\/p>\n<p>When the offer for free RingCentral Office licences was announced, temple volunteers understood how it could benefit their congregation. Using RingCentral, the temple has been scheduling regular video conferences for communal prayer, Gujarati lessons for children, and games to keep young ones engaged and entertained.<\/p>\n<p>The video conferencing allows elderly members of the community to join in, and helps the temple volunteers keep an eye on people who might be alone or vulnerable to make sure they have what they need. The utility of the system is in its accessibility: organisers send a link via WhatsApp, and people can either use that to open the RingCentral app on their device or simply join the call via their browser. For those who haven\u2019t quite grasped the concept of installing an app, it\u2019s also possible to dial into the call using their phone.<\/p>\n\t\t<style>\r\n\t\t\t@media (min-width: 768px) {\r\n\t\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-img {\r\n\t\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\r\n\t\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-img img {\r\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta {\r\n\t\t\t\tbackground: #001138;\r\n\t\t\t\tpadding: 30px;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-copy {\r\n\t\t\t\tpadding: 0 30px;\r\n\t\t\t\toverflow: hidden;\r\n\t\t\t\tcolor: #fff;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\r\n\t\t\t.bottom-cta .bottom-cta-copy .btn-primary {\r\n\t\t\t\twidth: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t}\r\n\t\t<\/style>\r\n\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta  CID-cta-2FdM5dTp IID-cta-69d31bdf08f42\"\r\n\t\t\tdata-dl-custom-type=\"cta\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta-img\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pandemic-reportTwitter-v1-copy.jpg\" alt=\"Call to action banner\">\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom-cta-copy\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<span style=\"font-size: 24px; line-height: 30px;\">Restructuring a nation through technology: How UK businesses are facing a post-pandemic future<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"text-center\" style=\"display: block;\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"rc-cta-shortcode btn btn-primary btn-lg\" data-dl-element=\"button\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg\" style=\"margin-top: 16px; font-weight: bold;\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Read the report\" href=\"http:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/uk\/report\/covid-19_restarting_the_uk_through_technology.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-dl-additional-info=\"Restructuring a nation through technology: How UK businesses are facing a post-pandemic future\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-name=\"Restructuring a nation through technology: How UK businesses are facing a post-pandemic future | Read the report\">Read the report<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">St. Bartholomew\u2019s Church of England Primary School<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From early in the pandemic, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.st-barts.bolton.sch.uk\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">St. Bartholomew\u2019s School<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in Bolton has been demonstrating the capability of digital networks and video conferencing to keep communities connected. As schools closed and children had to stay at home, Headteacher Mark Johns decided to take action to keep pupils engaged, continue delivery of lessons, and maintain connections between staff and parents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mark took advantage of RingCentral\u2019s free offer of RingCentral Office licences to set up a new internal and external communications system for the school. The school uses video conferencing to post department <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StBartsCE\/status\/1256160353551081473\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">updates<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, run <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/StBartsCE\/status\/1248574156817551362\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">quizzes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stbartsceyr\/status\/1260824111783251968\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">continue lessons<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and stay connected with parents. Internally, the staff use the cloud-based tools to conduct regular staff meetings and provide support wherever needed. The school announces its communication events on Twitter, using the broadcast nature to spread a wide message with little effort.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Men\u2019s Action Network<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mental health has been a prominent subject in the discussion of life during lockdown. Counsellors and psychiatrists have also adopted video conferencing to offer continuity of their services while the uncertainty of the pandemic looms large. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.man-ni.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Men\u2019s Action Network<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an organisation promoting and supporting men\u2019s mental health in Northern Ireland, used RingCentral\u2019s cloud-based voice and video service to maintain contact with clients.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Accepting RingCentral\u2019s offer of free licences to help continue their work during the pandemic, Men\u2019s Action Network was able to upgrade from an office-based PBX to a cloud service to keep their helpline open by enabling volunteers to receive calls from anywhere on their mobile devices. The organisation is also able to maintain its face-to-face counselling service by using video calls as an alternative to same-room interaction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the UK, lockdown restrictions are easing, friends are reuniting and life begins to get back to normal. Service must continue, and we must remain vigilant in our efforts to prevent contamination. This experience has taught us what we\u2019re capable of when enabled by technology. It\u2019s not only a \u2018nice to have\u2019: in situations like the pandemic, it\u2019s a need.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t<div class=\"uc-expo-cta-2 style-4  CID-cta-2FdM5dTp\"\r\n\t\t\tdata-dl-custom-type=\"ctaButton\">\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"inner-container\">\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"text\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Restructuring a nation through technology: How UK businesses are facing a post-pandemic future<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"button\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"rc-cta-shortcode btn btn-primary btn-lg\" data-dl-element=\"button\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-primary btn-lg\" href=\"http:\/\/netstorage.ringcentral.com\/uk\/report\/covid-19_restarting_the_uk_through_technology.pdf\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-additional-info=\"Restructuring a nation through technology: How UK businesses are facing a post-pandemic future\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-dl-name=\"Restructuring a nation through technology: How UK businesses are facing a post-pandemic future | Read the report\" target=\"_blank\"\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener\" title=\"Read the report\">Read the report<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"clearfix\"><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lockdown knocked us all for six. Isolation measures pressured communities through the necessity of social distancing and the threat of contagion. Fortunately, we were able to mitigate difficult effects like &hellip; <a href=\"\/gb\/en\/blog\/communities-stay-connected-during-lockdown\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Communities Stay Connected during Lockdown&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":10632,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[164,88,40,58],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Communities Stay Connected during Lockdown | RingCentral UK Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"During lockdown we were able to mitigate effects like loneliness or stress through virtual connections and video conferencing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/communities-stay-connected-during-lockdown\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"RingCentral Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Communities Stay Connected during Lockdown | RingCentral UK Blog","description":"During lockdown we were able to mitigate effects like loneliness or stress through virtual connections and video conferencing.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ringcentral.com\/gb\/en\/blog\/communities-stay-connected-during-lockdown\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"RingCentral Team","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":":\/gb\/en\/blog\/communities-stay-connected-during-lockdown\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/communities-stay-connected-during-lockdown\/"},"author":{"name":"RingCentral Team","@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/cc4f043d2b478862a8622c28b0ebd08c"},"headline":"Communities Stay Connected during Lockdown","datePublished":"2020-06-26T06:21:40+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-16T17:04:20+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/communities-stay-connected-during-lockdown\/"},"wordCount":738,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"\/gb\/en\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["customersuccess","public sector","remote work","video conferencing"],"articleSection":["UC - 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