(Courtesy of Fello) Fello, the hardware rental company that provides key technology for some of our nation’s biggest events and music festivals, announced today that it has launched a national discount program to provide technology rentals to both schools and skilled nursing facilities in the wake of the mandates for social distancing.
Peace Care, a nonprofit healthcare organization with two skilled nursing facilities in Jersey City, is the first to take advantage of this new program, and will use iPads and other technology provided by Fello to connect residents with families, entertainment, reading material, news and other life enriching services.
Headquartered in Morris County, Fello has seen the impact of mandatory school closures and quarantines in the Tristate area first-hand.
“As soon as the mandate for social distancing was announced, we recognized our technology could help millions of students and seniors that needed to stay connected,” said Zalmy Raskin, CEO of Fello. “The discount program is being used to provide iPads to both schools and nursing facilities so students can study at home even if they do not have an internet connection and the elderly and infirmed can video chat with family and friends.”
The at-home learning technology packages provided by Fello include basic level iPads (that can be equipped with LTE data if internet is not available in the home), kid-friendly cases and parental security controls. Fello will also configure the devices and can pre-install education apps such as Google Classroom. Technology packages can be delivered directly to schools or drop-shipped to individual student homes. For senior care communities, applications like Skype and FaceTime will be made available so that families can virtually visit their loved ones.
“Fello is allowing us to offer virtual hugs to our residents,” said Cheryl Dorn, COO of Peace Care. “During this challenging time, it is imperative that we do all in our power to boost the spirits of our residents, many of whom are elderly. Their mental well-being is just as important as their physical health. Fello’s technology is offering a lifeline to our residents, allowing them to video chat with family, read news, watch movies, and interact with the outside world.”
Fello is providing flexible, discounted pricing including damage insurance, based on volume and length of the rental with options to extend the program if closures persist beyond the initial anticipated period. For event-related customers, it has also implemented a flexible cancelation policy for customers who have been affected by event postponements or cancelations.
“What drives us now is what drove us to start this business in the first place,” said CFO Schneur Landa. “It is our passion to provide technology in a way that will solve problems and improve people’s lives.”
