Lawrence University has joined 20 community partners in an effort to promote safe practices during the fight against the spread of COVID-19.

Be Safe Wisconsin, launched by health care providers in northeast Wisconsin, is a public campaign aimed at providing a unified voice in staying committed to healthy and safe behaviors during the pandemic. Lawrence is among the community partners who have signed on to the program, which includes sharing information and resources on the recently launched BeSafeWisconsin.org web site. Subscribers also can opt in for Be Safe Wisconsin e-newsletters.

Area residents are asked to take the Be Safe pledge on the web site, stating they’ll stay home and abide by safe practices during the state’s safer-at-home orders.

You can follow Be Safe Wisconsin on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Lawrence is sharing COVID-19 news here.

Lawrence has posted signs throughout campus asking anyone on its grounds to wear a mask and abide by social distancing protocols while in public spaces. The University has produced or acquired enough masks to be distributed to all of its students, faculty, and staff who need to be on campus. While the majority of students have returned to their home communities, more than 100 students remain on campus because of an inability to get home or because of other extenuating circumstances. All classes during Spring Term are being taught via distance learning.

Trever Hall on loan to city, PPEs donated

Lawrence has been actively partnering with local communities and agencies in the battle to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. As announced earlier, the university has loaned one of its residence halls to the City of Appleton for use by city personnel.

Lawrence is donating the use of Trever Hall for the next four months. It will not be used as a medical facility and will not house COVID-19 patients, but rather will be a space the city can utilize for its personnel who are working on the front lines.

“All of us are in this fight together,” said Christyn Abaray, assistant to the Lawrence president. “Providing Trever Hall to our city is a natural step we at Lawrence could take to support our community in this effort.”

No Lawrence students or staff will be in the building. The university has cleaned and prepped the hall and made key-access available to city personnel. The city will provide its own bedding and will be responsible for the ongoing cleaning of the facility. City personnel staying in the hall will have access to the kitchen and laundry facilities, and free wi-fi is being provided.

Trever is well removed from where students on campus during spring term are being housed.

“We purposefully chose a residence hall where there would be limited interaction with our own campus community,” Abaray said.

Lawrence also donated personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies to the city last month. More than 25 boxes of supplies were delivered to the city for use by health care workers and first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The supplies, which would normally be used by Lawrence students in science labs, came from the school’s Chemistry and Biology departments and included protective gowns, lab coats, goggles, and gloves, Abaray said.

“During these uncertain times around the world, communities are working together in intentional and deliberate ways,” she said. “As an entrenched, established member of the Fox Valley community, we at Lawrence readily mobilized to donate the on-campus PPE supplies for our Fox Valley community’s front line. The only way we will persevere is in partnership with each other.”