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Alice PR clients step up in response to COVID-19 crisis

From offering free children’s entertainment to getting businesses online, our clients are responding admirably to the Covid-19 crisis.

Like many small businesses, we were left reeling here at Alice PR over the past month.  We felt the impact of trading restrictions and social distancing measures immediately, with – sadly – a number of planned client events postponed or cancelled outright.

As fans of remote working long before we ever heard of the Coronavirus, we moved quickly to have our entire team working from home, and holding client meetings online.

We’ve also been advising clients on how to run events online and continue service delivery during such challenging times. Rapid Response from Our Clients

While we’ve been getting to grips with these new circumstances ourselves, we’ve been blown away by the rapid and admirable response of our clients to the Covid-19 pandemic.  We always knew we worked with great organisations, and the past few weeks have really proved that.

Here’s just a flavour of how some of our clients have been responding: SOLAS

For anyone who wants to use this period to upskill or learn new skills, SOLAS – the Further Education and Training Authority – has made its entire eCollege online learning service available free of charge.

eCollege provides online courses in areas such as computer programming, project management, IT skills, and web and graphic design.

Furthermore, SOLAS is leading a huge response from the FET (further education and training) sector nationwide.  Make sure to follow SOLAS on Twitter to get all the latest news on how local Education and Training Boards are providing valuable services during this time. The Doorstep Market

We were delighted to work on the launch of The Doorstep Market earlier this week, an online one-stop-shop that allows people to shop local and buy Irish – from the comfort of their own homes.

The Doorstep Market was created by volunteers Grace Tallon and Joe O’Connor in response to the Covid-19 crisis.

The website offers a free e-commerce platform so Irish businesses can get online and start trading quickly and easily.  Businesses can also use the site to collaborate on offers and deliveries.

The Doorstep Market already lists more than 120 independent Irish businesses, ranging from bookshops to food stores and fashion brands.  So if you’re craving some artisan food products, or need to find the perfect gift during this lockdown period, check it out. PartyWizz

PartyWizz is an online entertainment booking platform.  We worked on their launch in 2018, and we were delighted to work with them again in recent weeks to promote ‘An Antidote to Boredom’, a free online video series to keep children and families entertained during this containment period.

The series features a range of professional performers, from magicians to DJs, with creative at-home activities to keep children of all ages entertained.  Activities to combat cabin fever include:

  • Dance and exercise routines;
  • Fun educational games;
  • Magic tricks; and
  • Origami-making.

We think this is the perfect way to keep little ones entertained over the Easter period! Chime

On a more serious note, many vulnerable groups are particularly affected by the current containment measures.

We’ve been working with Chime, the national charity for deafness and hearing loss, to highlight specific challenges facing people who are deaf or hard of hearing during this period.

Chime points out that, for their service users, even simple tasks – like contacting your GP – can present difficulties.  Chime is responding by providing a range of online supports during this public health emergency.  These include daily ‘Facebook Live’ updates on their Facebook page and support on a wide range of topics, including sessions provided in Irish Sign Language.

They are also working to improve remote access to their services by providing one-to-one appointments with their social work team, audiologists and community resource officers.

Chime can be contacted on 1800 256 257 or by emailing info@chime.ie. Early Childhood Ireland

Early Childhood Ireland, the membership organisation for the early years sector, has been kept busy since the initial government measures were introduced. They're advocating for members to ensure the childcare sector is not irreparably damaged due to the current containment measures.

If we think back to mid-March, childcare services were amongst the first to be closed down by government.  Service-providers faced huge financial challenges as a result, and were forced to consider mass layoff and staffing cutbacks.

Early Childhood Ireland has been liaising with government to highlight these challenges and ensure wage support packages for childcare staff.

We know they will continue to play a leading role in ensuring the sector gets back on its feet quickly in the aftermath of this crisis period. Computerology

Computerology provides IT support for the SME sector.  As you can imagine, it has experienced a surge in demand for remote-working solutions in recent times!

In the face of Covid-19, Computerology’s work has included moving clients that were always 100% office-based to working-from-home set-ups; advising clients on cybersecurity issues related to remote working; and ensuring essential IT systems remain operational for all their clients.

And all this while practising social distancing and adhering to the Government’s containment measures themselves! WellFest

Finally, while it pre-dates the current crisis, we think the fantastic WellGood programme deserves a mention here too.

An initiative of WellFest and KBC Bank Ireland, WellGood is a free 10-week programme of podcasts and video demos, focusing on nutrition, healthy recipes, wellbeing, fitness, yoga, Pilates and mindset.

Roz Purcell, Kathryn Thomas and Philly McMahon are just some of the guest contributors involved.

Whether you're keen to maintain your fitness or protect your mental health during such strange times – this is the programme for you. Proud

We are proud to work with such amazing clients – all doing great work during a very difficult time.

We hope these resources and services might be of help to you and yours during the Covid-19 crisis.  Stay safe!