Bells Across Pennsylvania Scheduled For May 2nd

On May 2 at 7 p.m., I ask that all Lansdale residents, if able, participate in the Bells Across PA ceremony where our community will honor frontline workers, local emergency workers and all those who have helped us continue to manage this horrific and ongoing pandemic by ringing any bell you might own for three minutes.

While the sounding of bells will not change the ongoing challenges we face as a community, it will showcase that we are a united front against this pandemic. That we will not yield in our dedication to protecting one another and that we stand with all those who have seen the very worst of this health crises. Since days of the American Revolution, the bell has served as an instrument for expressing communal gratitude, camaraderie and resolve, and it is a means well-suited for the challenge we face today.

In the wake of the current vaccination effort made by thousands of volunteers across the community, this dedication and ceremony is even more important. In speaking with the organizers of the local clinics, they always highlight that, without the volunteers, they would not be able to continue to move at the pace they are today. Thousands of people would remain exposed to the COVID-19 virus if it were not for the monumental effort, passion and dedication volunteers at the clinics have shown.

So many residents, friends, and family have stepped forward to help protect and heal our community so that we can, hopefully, move forward from this pandemic. On May 2 at 7 p.m., please join me in honoring them by ringing a bell, striking a chime, or just making some noise so they know how much we deeply appreciate them.

My proclamation reads as follows:

WHEREAS, a statewide disaster emergency was proclaimed on March 6, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic necessitating all Pennsylvania residents to shelter in place, businesses to close or curtail their activities; and social events to be cancelled; and

WHEREAS, despite all of the efforts of state, county, and municipal governments to mitigate the effects of this pandemic, to date, over one million Pennsylvanians have been afflicted with COVID-19 and 24,972 Pennsylvanians have died from it; and

WHEREAS, in every municipality, there have been emergency medical personnel, firefighters, police officers, and employees of grocery stores, pharmacies, utility workers and other life-sustaining businesses who have braved the viral elements, at the expense of themselves and their families, to maintain essential services to the general public sheltering in place and are deserving of recognition as “hometown heroes”; and

WHEREAS, elected officials across the Commonwealth have joined together to promote a second annual statewide expression of gratitude to these hometown heroes, solidarity with other Pennsylvanians on the frontlines of the COVID-19 battlefield and determination that their municipal businesses and civic-life will thrive once again; and

NOW, THEREFORE, the Mayor, in concert with the Council of Lansdale Borough, hereby proclaims Sunday, May 2, 2021 as Bells Across Pennsylvania Day and calls upon all residents and churches at 7:00 p.m. for three minutes to honor their hometown heroes, rally with other Pennsylvanians on the frontlines of the COVID-19 battlefield and show resolve to restore their local businesses and civic life to their former prominence.