Thanksgiving will look different this year for millions of people around the country. From virtually connecting families who can’t be together in person to donating meals to Americans in need, the tech industry is working to enable a safe and enjoyable holiday. See below for more information on how tech is helping Americans celebrate Thanksgiving.

Tech Helps Americans Celebrate Thanksgiving

Microsoft Teams Now Lets You Chat With 300 Friends and Family for 24 Hours (Microsoft)

Microsoft Teams is allowing calls to friends and family to last up to 24 hours and with up to 300 participants for free on desktop and the web.

Zoom Lifting 40-Minute Free Call Limit on Thanksgiving Day (Zoom)

Zoom is lifting its 40-minute restriction on free video chats for Thanksgiving Day to make it easier for families and friends to connect.

New Yorkers Can Buy Thanksgiving Dinner Insurance This Year (Instacart)

Campbell’s and Instacart are offering “Dinner Insurance” to New Yorkers who suffer side-dish snafus on Thanksgiving Day. Among the replacement options are green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and savory stuffing.

Amazon Provides Thanksgiving Meals to Families (Amazon)

In Granite City, Illinois, Amazon employees handed out 75 Thanksgiving meals to needy families who were invited to pick up a free turkey and other essential ingredients.

eBay Announces Grants Program to Help Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19 (eBay)

Ahead of Thanksgiving and Small Business Saturday, eBay is giving back to small businesses by awarding more than $500,000 in grant packages and education resources.

Google Translate Talks Turkey With New Thanksgiving Easter Egg (Google)

Apple Sets 5K Apple Watch Activity Challenge for Thanksgiving (Apple)

What’s New in Tech

Give a Little Back During the Holidays With Facebook’s Season of Giving (Facebook)

Facebook is kicking off its Season of Giving campaign to encourage people to give however they can. Next week on GivingTuesday — a day when people all over the world come together to support great causes — they will match up to $7 million in eligible donations made on Facebook to U.S. nonprofits. Read more here.

What We’re Saying

· TechNet Statement Regarding President-elect Biden’s Nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas to Head the Department of Homeland Security. Read the press release here.

· Groups See Positives in Biden’s Team. (CEO Update) Read the news feature here.

Before You Start Your Weekend

Inspired by her creative family, as well as doctors and nurses who needed masks to safely do their jobs, sewing instructor Kristine Frailing confronted the coronavirus and the shortage of face coverings head-on. “We decided to host a free online class teaching how to make a mask,” Frailing says. “It was a short, concise video. That was the first step into our virtual classes.” Frailing estimates that sewers who took her free classes made 10,000 protective masks, which primarily went to New York hospitals. (Visa)