Be Committed. Be Well. A Community Wellness Commitment

The New River Valley Public Health Task Force is urging all residents to help take care of each other and prevent the spread of COVID-19. In support of that effort, the task force has launched a high-visibility, regional communications campaign titled “Be Committed. Be Well.”

The campaign tagline, hashtag (#weareinthistogether) and related messaging are prominently featured in a variety of products and outreach methods, including:

• Nearly 120,000 cloth face coverings (masks), to be distributed to designated locations, including local government offices, courthouses, libraries, aquatic and recreation centers, stores, restaurants, farmer’s markets, police, fire and rescue agencies, hospitals and health/medical providers and schools (K-12 and colleges and universities). 
• Display advertising on local public transit system buses
• Targeted digital video display advertisements 
• Social media posts from partner agencies
• Resolutions from local elected and appointed boards and councils
• Posters, signs, presentations and templates
• Videos and podcasts

The campaign is based on a 10-point Community Wellness Commitment, which affirms a pledge to do the simple things that protect us all - including recommendations for face coverings, hygiene, distance and minimizing contact - for the well-being of the entire community. 

As members of the community, we pledge to care for the health and well-being of others by personally adopting our Community Wellness Commitment: 

• We will affirm our commitment to the safety, health, and well-being of our campuses and local communities.
• We will affirm that we will support the mental well-being of all community members.
• We will wear face coverings/masks in public areas.
• We will practice physical distancing by maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from others.
• We will practice good hygiene, including frequent handwashing and covering coughs or sneezes.
• We will stay home and avoid public spaces when not feeling well.
• We will contact a health care provider or an urgent care facility if we believe we are sick or have been exposed to the coronavirus.
• We will support but avoid contact with those who are sick.
• We will follow public health guidelines and medical recommendations to be tested and self-isolate as necessary.
• We will make a list of all others with whom we have had close contact, if necessary, to aid in contact-tracing efforts.

All available campaign materials, including downloadable products, customizeable templates, videos, podcasts and sample social media content, are at www.NRVRoadtoWellness.com. The site is updated regularly and serves as a repository of information to be shared widely throughout the New River Valley.

Face Coverings

As part of the "Be Committed. Be Well." outreach initiative, the NRV Public Health Task Force ordered nearly 120,000 cloth face coverings (masks), to be distributed to designated locations, including local government offices, courthouses, libraries, aquatic and recreation centers, stores, restaurants, farmer’s markets, police, fire and rescue agencies, hospitals and health/medical providers and schools (K-12 and colleges and universities). 

The Town of Christiansburg has these free masks available to residents at Christiansburg Town Hall, the Christiansburg Aquatic Center, the Christiansburg Recreation Center and at the weekly Christiansburg Farmers Market.

NRV Public Health Task Force Initiatives

The campaign is produced by the New River Valley Public Health Task Force, a consortium of local agencies which banded together in early March and continues to work together daily to mitigate and minimize the regional impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Task force partners include the New River Health District (Virginia Department of Health), LewisGale and Carilion hospitals and healthcare systems, New River Community College, Radford University, Virginia Tech, the Counties of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery and Pulaski, City of Radford, Towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, local law enforcement and first responder agencies, New River Valley Community Services, New River Valley Regional Commission, local public school divisions and area merchants’ associations and chambers of commerce.

Learn more about ongoing initiatives by the New River Public Health Task Force.

If you are a business wishing to take and promote this pledge, you may print and hang the PDF document here. Other printable resources to utilize around your establishment with the same branding can be found here.