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Two Parkland Brothers’ Promise to Humanity amidst COVID-19

Adam and Josh Buchwald have never been the type of brothers to sit idly by when there is a crisis. They are on a mission to change the world, one social media promise at a time.

With the world facing an international pandemic, the brothers launched Promise to Humanity. Promise to Humanity is an international movement that anyone can participate in. Their website can be found here https://www.promisetohumanity.com/

“Promise to Humanity was started in the month of May for several important reasons,” Adam Buchwald, co-founder of Promise to Humanity commented. “The first reason was, our sister, her name is Lauren and she is 14 years old. [Lauren] has Type 1 diabetes and she’s extremely vulnerable and high-risk [for COVID-19] during this time. Josh and I, and our Dad, wanted to keep her safe. We care about the health of senior citizens; this is why Josh and I wanted to step in and make an impact on the world and create a promise to humanity.”

Josh and Adam Buchwald holding
signed contracts.

Adam and Josh ask that individuals travel to their website and download a contract that states a promise to abide by social distancing, wearing masks, and limiting large social gatherings. Once printed, people sign the contract and post a picture on their social media adorning a mask and holding the contract to promote advocacy for safe living with COVID-19.

After the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018, these two native Parkland residents, took it upon themselves to launch their first movement, Parents’ Promise to Kids. This organization advocates for stricter gun safety laws in the United States.

“The feedback has been phenomenal from [Parents’ Promise to Kids],” Adam said. “We’re now focusing our efforts on COVID. We kind of stopped doing our work with that, but we’re still advocating for gun safety.”

They are using the expertise gained from Parents’ Promise to Kids and transitioning a similar model with Promise to Humanity.

“The overall goal of Promise to Humanity is to really reiterate this message of the common guidelines: wear a mask, practice social distancing. We want people to take this seriously,” Josh Buchwald noted. “Now, this is life and death, you know. So, it’s hard going on the news and sitting with my brother on the couch and watching these people in backyards, on the beach. It’s so difficult to watch that, or fathom that.”

This is an example of what
the contract looks like.

Adam and Josh both noted their movement has no political ties and that wearing a mask is a personal choice. They simply want to advocate for the safety of all citizens and hope people will make decisions that promote that.

“Josh and I are very worried. We fear that there is going to be a second wave and we worry that our leaders, hopefully make the right choice and take precautions as new cases are growing,” Adam said.

According to Gov. DeSantis’ presentation on July 6, the age with the highest number of COVID-19 cases is 21 years old.

“I wouldn’t look at it as a specific age, 21, it seems they’re going to bars and outside, to backyards, in that specific age group at that time,” Josh said. “I would say, as the overall message, this is for everyone. We’re not really focusing on a specific age group. This is for everyone.”

On the Promise to Humanity website they have a live counter of how many people have downloaded and signed their contract. They are currently at 6,003 downloads.

Jim and Penny Walzer holding
their contract

“The response has been absolutely incredible. We’ve been able to reach out to so many people via social media,” Josh said.

Adam and Josh have partnered with The World Health Organization and meet weekly with technical officers to launch a youth survey, available here https://covidyouthsurvey.com/. Their biggest push currently is to get celebrity figures involved to gain higher international recognition of their work.

“We want to hold people accountable, that’s our main goal. This movement, you know, you see people not social distancing. It’s sad to watch it on the news,” Adam emphasized. “We’re the generation that’s going to step up and make a difference in the world.”

“Persistence is key,” Josh concluded. “Adam and I are not stopping until we’ve made a difference in this world. And like I said before, this is life and death. It’s common sense, it’s simple and it’s easy.”

If you’d like to get involved with Promise to Humanity, the digital contract can be found here https://www.promisetohumanity.com/contract

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