Friends,

I hope you and your family enjoyed a safe and healthy Thanksgiving.

I know that 2020 has been a difficult year for so many. And yet, as I spoke with friends and family across the country last week, expressions of gratitude continued to be shared by everyone, even those who have suffered profound loss. I myself am thankful for my family, for the frontline workers who have held our communities together, for the leadership of those who have made challenging decisions in extraordinary circumstances, and for each of you who have continued to support friends, family, and neighbors through difficult times.

Here are some updates from this past week, including volunteer efforts in the Commonwealth, a recent town hall, and a brief summary of the Chesterfield School Board meeting with the Chesterfield Legislative Delegation.

Volunteer efforts at food banks
Governor Northam issued a call to action to volunteer and support our local food banks, and I was happy to join others throughout the Commonwealth as we packed and prepared thousands of care packages for distribution. The message from the Administration pointed out the urgent needs that will continue to grow in the upcoming months:

As we have seen on the news and in our communities, COVID-19 has resulted in immediate and long-term food insecurity for many Virginians. With rates of food insecurity on the rise, the number of people who turn to Virginia’s network of food banks will set records through the Fall 2020 and Winter 2021 peak demand period.

To ensure that Virginia children and families do not go hungry, the Commonwealth is making historic investments to support our network of food banks throughout Virginia.

On Monday, I joined Secretary of Health and Human Resources Dan Carey, Governor’s Chief of Staff Clark Mercer, and several other administration officials at Feed More, our local hunger-relief organization in Central Virginia. Together, we packaged more than 300 “We Care” boxes for our community.

 

Feed More is staffed by wonderful and dedicated individuals who can always use additional assistance from community volunteers. This is a great cause, and during these trying times, they need more support than ever.

If you are looking for ways to safely come together and give back to your community, please find volunteer opportunities throughout Senate District 10 below:

• Feed More opportunities
• Chesterfield Food Bank opportunities
• Powhatan Food Pantry opportunities

In light of the expanding crisis in food insecurity, I am working on legislation to help streamline the process of supplying food from Virginia farms to food banks. This legislation supports our agricultural community (especially our small family farms), helps to reduce food waste, and ensures that food banks are stocked with fresh and healthy produce. I will share more details as the legislation is drafted and prepared for the 2021 General Assembly.

Town hall with Secretary of Education Atif Qarni
On Tuesday, I participated as a panelist in a virtual town hall with Secretary of Education Atif Qarni and the following scholars and community leaders:

• May Nivar (Chair, Governor’s Virginia Asian Advisory Board)
• Dr. Archana Pathak (Associate Professor, VCU Dept of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies)
• Dr. Wesley Joe (Assistant Professor, Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy)
• L. Sookyung Oh (Director of NAKASEC, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium)

Our conversation centered around the complex — yet very necessary — discussion of racism and anti-Blackness in Asian American communities.

We examined the ways in which our various Asian American communities have experienced racism, xenophobia, and bigotry. We then took a deep dive into how racism and anti-Blackness sometimes manifest themselves, both internally within our communities and externally in response to broader attitudes within our American society. We also evaluated the concept of the model minority that is often used as a problematic stereotype against many in the Asian American community and also to disparage other minorities. The discussion in the town hall challenged us all to be more self-reflective and to work harder at bridging divides--some that are unseen and unacknowledged--that continue to permeate our society.

Chesterfield School Board Meeting
Also on Tuesday, I joined the Chesterfield Legislative Delegation in a joint meeting with the Chesterfield County School Board. Superintendent Merv Daugherty and the School Board members shared their efforts in navigating the county school system through the pandemic, in supporting the learning of students, in the recruitment and retention of teachers, and the plans for the remainder of the academic year. Educators, school leaders, and community members throughout the Commonwealth and the country have faced extraordinarily difficult decisions as we have tried to balance health and safety concerns with the need to preserve education access for all learners. After the discussion on Tuesday night, it was clear that we all have common goals in mind: to support student learning and to reopen schools when it is safe, following recommended health department guidelines.

As always, if you need assistance, or if you want to schedule a Zoom or phone call with our team, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office. Email is the best way to contact us. We can be reached at [email protected].

-- Ghazala Hashmi

 

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