“I truly believed that this would be the day I died,” Josh told CNN.
“A sense of horror came over me when I heard blaring sirens and helicopters circling the air above the school,” said Adam. “After finally reuniting with my family, I cried for hours and my body felt so sore.”
“Being in a tragedy like that will not only change you as a person, but influence the appreciation of life,” said Josh.
The brothers are now putting their activist voices to work for a new widespread crisis — the coronavirus pandemic.
A promise to help
Adam, a sophomore at the University of Florida and Josh, a rising senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, say they’ve seen a lot of people not taking proper precautions in a state where cases are spiking.
“Seeing friends and people in large groups congregating, whether it’s backyards or the beach, it’s very difficult to see. That’s one of the main reasons that I started this, to enforce the rules that I’ve been given by reputable sources,” said Adam.
The brothers are asking that people sign the Promise to Humanity contract and then post a picture of themselves on their social accounts using the hashtags — #PromiseToHumanity #SafetyOverDisease.
“It’s more of a pledge than an actual contract,” Adam points out. “We’re not forcing anyone. We’re just trying to reiterate the message of how important it is to take these common sense guidelines seriously.”
Since the campaign’s launch in May, around 5,000 people have signed the pledge to do their part, a majority of them young adults. It’s part of the brothers’ mission to “emphasize that teenagers and young children are not being selfish and care about the health of others.”
“We care about senior citizens’ health, so we wanted to advocate for their health as well,” said Adam.
Josh added “We wanted to really show the world that we can prove ourselves, in terms of young adults like us, making a difference.”
Even though the task at hand is growing everyday, their goal remains the same, “inform people in order to save lives.”