The Easter Bunny has been cleared as an essential worker and will still be making an appearance this weekend! Unfortunately, this year Easter will look a little different for many families across the world. Many families visit friends, go to church or have gatherings during this holiday. However, during this global pandemic physical gatherings have been prohibited to reduce the spread of COVID-19. It is important we follow safe social distancing guidelines over the long weekend, but this doesn’t mean we can’t connect with our families in other ways! Being a trucking company, we are no strangers to creative ways to stay in contact with our loved ones. Many of our drivers are out on the road during family holidays, delivering the essential supplies needed to keep this country moving all year long. Our drivers often rely on online applications and tools to stay connected with family at home. Video calls are a great way to get together while practicing social distancing! Here are just a few apps to take advantage of this Easter weekend: Facebook Messenger: This Facebook app is great for text chats, video and audio calls and can connect up to eight people at once. Skip exchanging phone numbers and simply send a message to your Facebook friends. FaceTime: FaceTime is available on all apple devices. It allows up to 32 people to connect at once for a video call. To use FaceTime all contacts must also be using an apple device. Google Duo: Google Duo is available for Apple and Android phones, laptops and desktop computers. This app allows up to eight people to be included in one call. You can also leave personalized video messages with fun effects and filters. Google Hangouts: Up to 10 people can participate in a video conference via Google Hangout, which is available on multiple platforms. Skype: Skype is very popular for video chat apps, allowing up to 50 people to participate in a call and is available on phones, tablets, PCs and Macs. WhatsApp: WhatsApp is a messaging service provided by Facebook and is popular for instant messaging, but also has a video chat platform that allows up 16 people to come together at a time. Zoom: Growing in popularity by companies during this pandemic for business meetings, Zoom video chats can connect up to 100 people. You can connect even more using their paid subscription. Remember when using zoom to set your meeting to private and share your chat links in a secure way. These apps can be downloaded through the app store or play store on your phone or tablet. Be sure to follow all safety and privacy measures to ensure a safe and private connection. Remember to stay connected with your friends and family during this time of social distancing. Schedule an “online party” where you can all be on a call together. Just because we are not physically together does not mean we cannot enjoy each other's company. We all need each other during these difficult times, we’re in this together.  Keeping in touch with one another helps us cope better with the situation and improves our mental health. This time of isolation will not last forever, we will return to normality. We wish you all a safe and happy Easter long weekend!