Coronavirus Hub
Coronavirus Hub

Be inspired

How have other businesses stepped up?


  • TaskRabbit has created “Tasks for Good” to connect at-risk and vulnerable individuals in need of essential services to local volunteer Taskers who are donating their time and skills
  • STV has committed £1m of airtime to charities and businesses who are working tirelessly to sustain their organisations whilst helping the most vulnerable in our communities. They have also launched a new phase of Britain Get Talking mental wellness campaign, encouraging families and friends to reach out to loved ones 
  • Bolton at Home is supporting staff to volunteer with NHS and local emergency response, including working with Bolton Council to rehouse the homeless, pack and distribute emergency food parcels to vulnerable residents and supporting older/vulnerable residents in the community with information and welfare phone calls
  • BT has removed caps on home broadband plans, capped cost on landline calls and is providing access to NHS online and 111 for free   
  • TJ Morris has created a £30m Coronavirus Fund to financially support its staff during the outbreak. This will include paying staff in full that need to self-isolate for up to two weeks or longer. If staff do not need to self-isolate between now and December, they will be paid two weeks’ extra salary, so they do not miss out 
  • BT has introduced a connectivity support package to help disadvantaged children access education while schools are closed. The scheme includes free unlimited mobile data for families with no internet access and zero rating of some of the most popular education websites supporting home learning.
  • Drax Group is delivering hundreds of laptops with internet access to schools and colleges local to its operations across Britain to ensure students can continue with their studies. 
Be inspired

Be part of a concerted effort to support families everywhere


Get started: actions for firms who want to help


Support your communities

Explore one of the many charity platforms bringing together offers of support with needs that are emerging across society. Here’s some to get you started:  

  • Helpforce Assist: connecting the needs of the NHS with voluntary offers of time and resources from businesses 
  • Business in the Community: linking a range of businesses resources to community need, from food and technology to clothing and toiletries.
  • Volunteering Matters: using professional skills to address skills gaps emerging in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector.

Support those who are digitally excluded

Digital devices have been critical to our ability to maintain social contact and access information. Lack of digital access has therefore presented challenges for the UK’s estimated 1.9 million households that do not have access to the internet. Vulnerable communities face being isolated in their homes with limited means to communicate or access information and services.  

Your business can make a difference by donating tablets, smartphones, laptops, and connectivity solutions like sim cards and dongles to prevent vulnerable people from being cut off from the outside world – find details of how you can help at DevicesDotNow or SocialBox.biz. You can also find information about the Good Things Foundations’ work to close the digital divide through community outreach work and collaboration with local businesses.

Digital poverty has had a particularly damaging impact on schoolchildren. With most children now learning from home during the third lockdown, disadvantaged children without access to suitable devices are at risk of falling behind with their education. Here are some ways businesses can support schools:

  • Vodafone has launched The Great British Tech Appeal – find out how your business can donate old phones and tablets to vulnerable young people.
  • Business2Schools is collecting tech from businesses to donate to schools – find out more about how to donate devices.
  • The BBC has produced a helpful list of organisations around the country through which you can donate IT equipment to schoolchildren.
  • If you’re based in London, the Greater London Authority has compiled a list of organisations collecting IT equipment to redistribute.

Support your customers

Businesses have been taking steps to support their customers and maintain provision of services for people facing challenges at this time. For instance, broadband firms removed caps on data allowances and energy providers have been making sure people in financial distress do not lose essential services.  

What have we achieved?


Over the past few months the CBI has been helping connect businesses to initiatives making a difference to those facing hardship. We have:

  • Brought together over 25 businesses - making connections between organisations facilitating community support
  • Shared resources and guidance on how to get involved with community based support and volunteering initiatives
  • Facilitated the exchange of knowledge and sharing of best practice for how businesses have been identifying and supporting customers in situations of hardship, such as financial distress or medical vulnerability.
What have we achieved?

Find out more about our work



  • Help shape our London Tech Guarantee Scheme

    The scheme aims to widen access to technology and data amongst young Londoners and support digital inclusion.

    Get involved

  • Get involved in our Everyone’s Business campaign

    The campaign highlights ways businesses can support their employees, communities and environment.

    Contact Us

  • Supporting families in hardship was part of the CBI’s Biggest Challenges Project

    Supporting families in hardship was part of a wider initiative the CBI undertook to bring businesses together to address the social and economic challenges presented by coronavirus. You may also read about our redeploying people challenge - which helped businesses redeploy staff from low to high demand sectors - and our supporting mental health challenge - which helped businesses step up to support employees and their families.