LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — Michael Branch wears 50 pounds of equipment daily as a firefighter for the Louisville Fire Department. He said wearing a mask is easy.
"It's best to do the best thing for other folks," Branch said. "If that's just wearing a mask, it takes a second to pop it on. It's no big deal. Put it on when you can, especially if you cannot social distance."
The Kentucky Medical Association (KMA), Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, and the Kentucky Foundation for Medical Care launched the 'Wear It For Me' campaign on Wednesday to encourage Kentuckians to listen to health officials and wear a face mask in public to protect those around them.
"We want to collectively keep those around us safe. And at this moment in time, this is what helps us do it," said Branch, who is one of the faces of the public service announcement.
The campaign's promotion features five Kentuckians from different backgrounds, including a teacher, restaurant owner, and a Louisville man battling cancer.
KMA President Dr. Brent Wright is also a face for the campaign.
"By humanizing the mask and what it can mean will allow people to make a correct and just choice in protecting those around them," Wright said. "We want the same thing by wearing masks. We want to decrease the spread of COVID-19, and we all want to go back to the society that we know and love."
The campaign emphasizes the fact that wearing a mask protects more than the individual.
"We say, 'Wear It For Me,' and we put a face on the PSA, but I think we wear masks for all of us. Wear it for me and wear it for us. And I think that's what we're trying to do is keep people safe and healthy," said Wright.
You can watch the full video here.
