City of St. George to begin Stay Brighter Campaign to help citizens be ‘active, kind and smart’ during pandemic

seb_ra/iStock / Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — To boost spirits and foster community bonding during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of St. George has issued a challenge to its residents.

The city’s Leisure Services Department will kick off its “Stay Brighter Campaign” on April 30, and it will run through May 30.

According to a press release from the city, the 60-minute daily challenge encourages citizens to stay active, stay kind and stay smart every day — 20 minutes for each of the three disciplines.

Staying active may involve a walk or bike ride around a neighborhood. Staying kind might mean mailing a card to a grandparent or donating to a local food bank. Staying smart could include reading a book or learning something new.

“We want to continue to spread joy and to work together, though we are physically apart, to show love, concern and support for others,” said Michelle Graves, deputy director of arts and events. “This time is a gift to stay sharp, creative, giving and healthy. We encourage St. George citizens to be a positive change in our city.”

The daily challenge log, as well as examples of each of the three disciplines, can be found at www.sgcity.org/staybrighter. Register online, download the log and track progress between April 30 and May 30.

All participants will receive a free STG Stay Brighter T-shirt upon completion of the challenge.

Graves told St. George News the idea of the campaign is to boost people’s spirits.

“Through this initiative, we just want to spread cheer,” she said. “We want our community to stay active, focus on their physical and mental health … and try to do random acts of kindness each day.”

The goal is to get people engaged and flood the city with people wearing Stay Brighter T-shirts.

“We are calling on our residents to be our best selves and stay brighter during this unprecedented situation,” city of St. George Recreation Supervisor Nikelle Pledger said in a press release. “COVID-19 is impacting and reshaping daily life everywhere. Let’s take this opportunity to consider boosting spirits and strengthening the bonds within our communities by joining the Stay Brighter campaign.”

Participants are invited to share the campaign on social media through #stayingbrighter or #staybrighter.

As with many people and organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city believes we are all in this together philosophy.

One way to practice social distancing is getting out and ridding one St. Geroge’s biking trails like Bearclaw Poppy Trail. St. George, Utah, Jan. 23, 2020 | Photo by David Louis, St. George News

“Our department provides social, cultural and physical wellbeing,” Graves said. “We feel this aligns well with this philosophy.”

During these hard times, Graves added, this initiative is a way to support the city’s goal to keep its residents physically and mentally healthy along with throwing down the gauntlet of a fun challenge.

“We are going to use this campaign for a lot of things,” Graves said. “We realize this is a time of worry … but we want everyone to have peace and know that this too will pass and we will make it through.”

Perseverance is key she added.

“We believe in the three steps of this: active, kind and smart,” Graves said. “If everyone acts according to these three messages we can support each other, support small businesses, support our community and be thankful to those who work on the frontline. The message is to stay positive, uplift others … be kind and take care of ourselves.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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