COVID-19 Update
Dear Umbrella Members (current and future):
Coronavirus changed the world overnight. This is particularly true for the 70 million Americans who are over the age of 60. Leaving home for even the essentials suddenly became more fraught.
When we started Umbrella two years ago, we set out to empower older adults everywhere to live with independence and purpose, starting with making it easier to take care of tasks around the home. We are so proud to have earned the trust of thousands of you across the country. But amidst social distancing and other precautions we all must take, changing a light bulb or fixing a leaky faucet wasn’t as important as keeping people safe.
So we put that business on hold and asked you what you needed. Thousands of you told us that getting groceries and medications worried you most. Online services were overloaded. And, non-digital members couldn’t use them in the first place—they needed to be able to pick up the phone and talk to someone.
It was clear that our work at Umbrella had to change overnight, too.
We first set out to deliver the essentials to your doorstep. We recruited thousands of volunteers and doubled our customer service team to better support you. We partnered with national nonprofits and state and local governments to grow our service area from 4 states to 50 states and Washington DC. And finally, we paused our membership fees to make these services accessible for all.
As the country embarks on various stages of re-opening, we have now re-opened our core home services too, where allowed by local regulations. But one thing is very clear: we absolutely cannot compromise on standards that put your safety first. This means Umbrella services now include:
- Contactless service: all payments are handled through our digital platform, including tipping, and all service providers stand at least 6 feet away at all times
- Personal protection: service providers will wear personal protective equipment (masks, gloves) for the entirety of the visit
- Health controls: service providers must pass Umbrella’s Senior-Safety COVID training and affirm they have been symptom-free for 72 hours before accepting a job
And as always, we are listening. If you have ideas for how we can make this time even a little bit easier, please get in touch at [email protected]. Or you can call 844-402-2480 and let our team know that you’d like a call back from me.
