One proven and popular communications strategy is to connect your message to a scheduled event or observance. Like promoting heart disease screening around Valentine’s Day, it’s a strategy we use regularly at CSAC because it helps get your message out to a wider audience. In reviewing the social media posts and videos created during the COVID-19 crisis, I realized we’ve had a remarkable number of regularly-scheduled observances that uniquely relate to current events and California’s counties.

In the last six weeks, CSAC has observed:

• National Doctor’s Day on March 30
• Census Day on April 1
• National Public Health Week from April 6-12
• World Health Day on April 7
• National Service Recognition Day on April 7
• National County Government Month throughout April
• County Health Day on April 16
• Earth Day on April 22
• National Volunteer Week from April 20-25

In the midst of a global pandemic, these observations provided multiple opportunities to highlight the role of counties in protecting public health and rally our communities in the fight against COVID-19. Together, we’ve been successful in flattening the curve. But the crisis is not over yet. We need to continue practicing suppression and containment measures like staying home, physical distancing, hand washing and wearing masks. At the same time, counties also need to advocate for additional direct and flexible federal funding to continue providing public health and critical safety net services in our communities while fueling economic recovery.

So as April and National County Government Month comes to a close, let’s take time to reflect on how much Counties Matter in the important actions of the last six weeks and continue giving thanks to our public health workers, doctors, nurses, volunteers and others. Let’s renew our push to complete the Census so local governments can be adequately funded to respond to future public health emergencies and let’s remember, in honor of Earth Day, to continue thinking globally and acting locally to protect the health of our communities.