For all I’ve accomplished in the last 15 years of my nursing career, I feel like I deserve a free coffee every once in a while. I have police friends that constantly receive free meals, donuts, and coffee throughout the community, and I always thought, “when is it the nurse’s turn?” Well, my friends, it took a pandemic crisis, but we got our chance for freebies. If you love gifts, it’s time to receive one – you deserve it for stepping up during this crisis! We searched the internet and found everything from socks to coffee, all for free!
Note that several companies out there are donating PPE, money, and their generosity of time. These are mainly deals that give healthcare providers a little something to enjoy during this stressful time.
PLEASE NOTE: None of the below companies have paid for our mention of them or their offerings. We recognize this is a trying time for all involved especially nurses and we are simply trying to maintain a list of viable companies offering special discounts or freebie opportunities.
ALSO PLEASE NOTE: We at RegisteredNursing.org honor all the essential workers on the frontlines from healthcare professionals to grocery clerks to truck drivers and everyone in between. Most of the deals in the piece are available to frontline healthcare workers, but as our website is geared toward nurses, that is naturally the focus. Please know that we see you all, we honor you all, and none of us would be getting through this without you! READ HEALTHCARE IS A TEAM SPORT.
UPDATE: December 2020
With the recent surge in COVID cases across the country, some companies are now re-activating their discounts and freebies for nurses and other frontline healthcare workers. For example:
Starbucks
For the ENTIRE month of December 2020, nurses and other frontline workers can receive a free tall brewed coffee (hot or iced) from Starbucks. According to their webpage, anyone who identifies as a frontline worker is eligible for this freebie, including doctors, nurses, public health workers, pharmacists, dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, law enforcement officers, dentists and dental hygienists, mental health workers (therapist, psychologist, social worker, counselor, etc.), hospital staff such as janitor/housekeeping/security, military on active duty, contact tracers, vaccine and pharmaceutical researchers, pilots, flight attendants, TSA, and medical researchers.
National Nurses Week 2020
National Nurses Week 2020 kicks off on Wednesday, May 6, which is National Nurses Day, and wraps up on Tuesday, May 12; unfortunately falling amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, many companies and restaurants are offering special deals to nurses. Pay close attention to regional or local deals in your neck of the woods, or peruse our deals below, which are updated daily and may not be specific to Nurses Day or Week (though we will notate when there is an expiration date on the deal). We salute you, nurses – Happy National Nurses Week!
RELATED: Nurses Week 2020: What Nurses Want
Free Travel to the Frontlines
Airbnb
DEAL ENDED. If you are familiar with Airbnb, you know that it is typically an online method of booking a place to stay on vacation. Hosts of Airbnb housing are taking a hit economically during this time. However, Airbnb has turned their misfortune into a place for healthcare workers to “stay close to their patients and safely distanced from their own families.” When you book a frontline stay, Airbnb will waive all their fees up to the first 100K responders invited to book until May 31, 2020.
Delta Airlines
DEAL ENDED. No, it’s not a vacation. Delta Airlines is flying eligible medical volunteers round-trip for free to Georgia, Louisiana, and Michigan. Flights will be offered through June 30. More places are added weekly.
Greyhound
DEAL ENDED. Greyhound is offering 2 free one-way Road Rewards bus tickets to nurses, doctors, first responders, and morticians who are volunteering to help fight COVID-19 and need to travel to their volunteer site. Tickets must be issued and travel completed by June 30. For more details, visit the link above.
Hilton Hotels
DEAL ENDED. Hilton Hotels, in collaboration with American Express, is donating up to 1 million free hotel room nights across the U.S. to nurses, doctors, EMTs, paramedics, and other frontline healthcare staff who may need a place to sleep or isolate from their families during this pandemic. This offer will be good from April 13 until the end of May.
JetBlue
JetBlue Airlines is providing flights to help get medical workers and supplies to where they need to go to fight this pandemic. Visit the link above for more information.
Lyft Scooters
DEAL ENDED. First responders, healthcare, and transit workers can take 30-minute Lyft scooter rides for free through the end of May. This offer is good in the following cities: Austin, Denver, Los Angeles, Metro DC, San Diego, and Santa Monica.
Marriott Hotels
Marriott Hotels, in collaboration with American Express and JPMorgan Chase, has started a new initiative called Rooms for Responders which will provide $10 million in hotel stays for doctors and nurses leading the fight against COVID-19. Hotel rooms will be provided in impacted areas including NYC, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C. and Newark, N.J. The American College of Emergency Physicians and the Emergency Nurses Association will help Marriott match doctors and nurses with free accommodations at participating hotels. In addition to this, Marriott has also launched the Community Caregiver Program to provide significantly discounted hotel rates to first responders and healthcare professionals who want to book hotel stays in close proximity to the hospitals they work in.
