Whether 12-hour shifts or unaccustomed assistance missions in old people’s homes, the corona crisis was not an easy time for members of the army, civil defence personnel or doctors and nurses. As lending activities also declined, we supported those who had made a special effort during this difficult time – free of charge with our power banks.

As soon as the lockdown was in place, we already had an idea on the table: we offer our services to emergency organisations such as Corona hospitals, civil defence and the military. We immediately made contact with various institutions in Germany, France, Spain and Switzerland. In the week after the lockdown, the first deliveries were made in Switzerland – with the in-house E-Cargo Bike called “Grottino” notabene.

The delivery of Chimpy Powerbanks to the city hospital Triemli by Alex.
The delivery of Chimpy Powerbanks to the city hospital Triemli by Alex.

In Switzerland, we supplied the staff of the Zurich University Hospital and the Triemli City Hospital with power banks so that they did not run out of battery during the 12-hour Corona shifts. Even after a long shift, nursing staff and doctors should have enough battery to contact their loved ones. Our Chimpy power banks are cleaned as standard in the reprocessing process. The power banks for the University Hospital and Triemli were additionally cleaned with a disinfectant before delivery and packed in boxes with hygienic gloves. Feedback has shown that the campaign has been very well received by the hospital staff.

The Meilen Civil Defence has also taken advantage of our free Corona offer. The civil defence volunteers were deployed in hospitals and support the local care for the elderly people in their work. Smooth communication was ensured with the Chimpy power banks. 

Even the Swiss army had a need for Chimpy power banks. The Mountain Infantry Battalion 91, which was deployed at the Swiss outer border, reported first. They’re communicating by radio and army smartphones, which ensures encrypted communication. These smartphones had to be switched on 24/7. Since the soldiers had no access to electricity during the operation, only fully charged Chimpy power banks helped. After the end of the mission the battalion 19 took over, which again made use of our offer. Currently even a third battalion of the Swiss Army is using Chimpy power banks.

Paz, City Manager Barcelona, delivers Chimpy power banks to various hospitals in Barcelona and the thanks follow immediately via Instagram.
Paz, City Manager Barcelona, delivers Chimpy power banks to various hospitals in Barcelona and the thanks follow immediately via Instagram.

Corona has hit Spain very hard. The country was in a strict lockdown for weeks and the hospitals were overcrowded with Corona patients. According to a tip from a local partner, we were allowed to deliver 320 power banks to various hospitals in Barçelona as part of the #donatuenergia (donate your energy) campaign. The corona patients hospitalized there were allowed to use our service free of charge. The Chimpy Powerbank enabled them to keep in touch with the outside world, as many hospital beds had no sockets to recharge their smartphones.

In April another well-known organisation from Switzerland suddenly contacted us. “helpfulETH” is an initiative of the ETH Domain and Swiss academia. In one of the various sub-projects of helpfulETH the corona test process was analyzed from the hospital to the laboratory and back. The corona tests were divided into “normal priority” (test result after 24 – 48 hours) and “high priority” (test result within 6 hours). The problem was that the process was extremely chaotic and the results didn’t came back in time. In order to improve the process, the high priority corona tests included smartphones with GPS tracking. This enabled the initiators to see where the tests were currently located. The Chimpy power banks ensured that the batteries did not run out during GPS tracking. The process problems could be solved.

Some projects are still running, some projects are completed and the auxiliary power banks are back with us. Already now we can say that our Corona action was a success, because the feedback was always positive and the institution we helped were extremely thankful.