Dear John,

Like you, I too am thinking about when we can gather with our family or friends for good conversation, making memories, or perhaps a good meal.  I look forward to when we’ll be able to go out and watch a movie again, visit a favorite restaurant, or play catch with the kids at the park. In the meantime, I know that we will work together with our Nebraska spirit and come out stronger; conquering COVID-19 and growing as Americans in the process. At times like this and others I have found my faith to be a source of strength and comfort.

 

While it hasn’t been easy, I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity and sacrifice in our District to help meet the greatest needs during this challenge. Companies such as Soldier Valley Spirits who are producing sanitizer and delivered 100 gallons to the Omaha VA Hospital and 85 gallons to the Omaha Fire Department in the past two weeks. The Henry Doorly Zoo graciously donated four portable hand washing stations to the Open Door Mission to help protect their homeless residents from the virus. Additionally, the Nebraska Chinese Association donated 10,000 surgical masks to our community health centers and county sheriff departments. Read more stories here.

 

We have transformed our campaign team into an army of volunteers working with food banks all across our community to provide food to those in most need.  So many have expressed their gratitude for what these programs are doing to ensure they have food on the table to eat.

 

Not only do we have each other’s backs, but our government has delivered on our promise that, “we will fight for you and with you.” With the Paycheck Protection Program, small businesses will be able to keep their employees on the payroll, as well as pay rent and utilities.  We also allocated $1 billion to the NIH for better research and response. Also, we appropriated $3.5 billion in grants to states for immediate assistance to child care providers to prevent them from going out of business and to otherwise support child care for families, including for healthcare workers, first responders, and others playing critical roles during this crisis.

 

Those are just a few of the examples of how we are all working together to overcome this virus and its impacts.

 

Thank you for all you’ve done for each other and our community during this crisis. When we all come together, amazing things are possible.

 

Don