Pledge

spread of COVID-19.

Since then, Adam, a sophomore at the University of Florida, and Josh, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, have been continuously pushing to get commitments and attention to their mission both in the state and around the country.

Their persistence has paid off, scoring the backing and interviews with two household names who are both advocates of wearing masks and social distancing. Actor Matthew McConaughey has jumped on board with a full endorsement of the brothers’ campaign. And Dr. Anthony Fauci, the best-known advocate for safety in the federal government who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has also given them his full support and backing for what they’re trying to accomplish.

Because of their passion to get the word out about their campaign, the Buchwalds have been working together to reach out to anyone around the country who can help connect them with the kinds of leaders who can multiply their efforts to reach the youth and anyone else who wants to participate.

A big endorsement

One of their efforts was to reach out to public relations professionals. One, in particular, brought them to Matthew McConaughey, who in turn invited them to have a Zoom call about their efforts.

He offered up praise and some ideas for their project moving forward. He also authorized them to use his photo and testimonial about Promise to Humanity. McConaughey’s face and quote are at the top of their website.

The Oscar-winning actor and activist also gave them the idea to transform the campaign from a contract to a pledge for safe practices during COVID-19.

“Now Josh and I have been getting a lot more responses with the pledge. We think part of it is that people don’t think they’re signing a legal document and that might have been getting in the way a little bit,” Adam said.

An even bigger endorsement

In terms of COVID-19, the even bigger “get” was scoring, not just a call, but an official Zoom interview with Dr. Fauci, the national spokesperson for the ongoing debate about how best to handle the pandemic. The 15-minute conversation with the celebrity health advocate is now the centerpiece of the home page on their website.

“It was such an honor talking with Dr. Fauci,” Josh said. “The past four months, we have been working so hard on this movement. And our pledge is actually built on his recommendations from the CDC and WHO.

“It was an amazing call,” he said. “I was able to ask him questions about COVID related to longterm effects. And we got to speak about the movement and he gave us advice. It was incredible.”

Getting Dr. Fauci on board with their efforts was a dream come true.

“Ever since we started with PTH, Joshua and I always wanted to bring in celebrities, especially in government, such as Dr. Fauci,” Adam said. “It’s had a great impact on our movement and greatly expanded our reach, even across the world. We got some great responses after our interview with him.”

Giving it the old college try

Now that they have achieved a solid start with celebrity endorsements for their movement, the brothers said that they want to make a dent in the lax attitudes toward COVID19 that have been seen on college campuses around the country.

“Our main goal right now is really focusing on college students,” Adam said. “There are so many students who are out and about and partying without taking precautions. They don’t really care about the coronavirus and the risks.”

Josh said they have created the PTH College Edition.

“We’ve taken our new pledge to 60 major universities in the United States,” he said. “We added their respective logos to the pledge certificate. We’ve created physical as well as digital ones. And we’ve reached out to these student associations at these universities.”

In order to expand their reach to multiple colleges and other parts of the country, the brothers created a digital version.

“It’s the same thing as the printed one, but now it’s easier to sign online and on your mobile device,” Josh said. “You can add your picture, your name, the date and then upload it to us and you can get a copy as well.”

Visit promisetohumanity. com, instagram.com/promisetohumanity, facebook. com/promisetohumanity, or twitter.com/PromiseHumanity.