Friends,

Last Saturday night, in a candlelight vigil at the Richmond Korean Presbyterian Church, we mourned the innocent victims of hate in Atlanta, while also affirming our commitment to call out bigotry and violence in all forms. On Tuesday night, another rally in Henrico County brought over 100 people together to rally against the rise of hate crimes that have targeted members of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities. For both of these events, I thank the hosts and organizers and especially thank the many community members who stand against growing violence. The legislative members in the General Assembly who are of AAPI heritage or descent have been discussing our next steps in response to the rise in hate crimes, and we will make additional announcements soon.

New FAFSA Filing Assistance
One consequence of the pandemic is the decline in applications for federal financial aid. On Monday, the Governor announced a new program to assist Virginia students and families in the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The long-term goal is for every eligible student to complete a FAFSA application each year, enabling them to identify opportunities for funding their post-secondary education goals.

Developed in partnership with the Virginia College Access Network (VirginiaCAN) and the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), this program provides free, one-on-one FAFSA completion assistance. From March 22 through June 30, students and families can go to virginiacan.org/fafsa to schedule a virtual meeting and connect with an advisor who can answer questions and walk them through the process of completing the FAFSA application.

Seeking full FAFSA completion for each student is a critical step to closing gaps in college access and enrollment that we often see.

Speaking Engagements this Week
I’ve engaged in many conversations these past several days with constituents, colleagues, stakeholders, and advocates across the district and the Commonwealth. Here are a few highlights:

Women’s History Month Talk: Southwest Virginia Community College (March 22)
In this conversation with SWCC, I discussed how women’s roles in Virginia government are changing, what it means to be the first Muslim elected to the Virginia Senate, and our shared vision for the Community College system as we move out of the pandemic.

31st Annual Environment Virginia Symposium (March 23)
Over the last few years, Virginia has put policies and processes in place to begin addressing environmental justice as a core consideration within the Commonwealth's agencies and state government. During a panel discussion within this symposium hosted by the Virginia Military Institute, I and my fellow-panelists looked at the past efforts to move the needle on environmental justice and to consider our next steps in this area.

Virginia529 Women’s History Month Event (March 24)
It was a pleasure to join the folks of Virginia529 to highlight Women’s History Month, the role of women in government, and to take a look at the legislative efforts of the 2021 General Assembly, particularly in the area of higher education and increased support for post-secondary education access and opportunities.

ReflectUS Virginia: Learning from the International Community (March 24)
I was honored to join a panel discussion hosted by ReflectUs Virginia to examine the topic of what we might learn from the international community on women’s political participation and leadership. This essential topic addressed issues such as barriers to access, historic and systemic structures that prevent women’s political participation, recent progress and the impacts of COVID, and the unique stresses placed on women in politics.

Tonight: Town Hall with Dr. Megan Healy
Tonight, March 25, I’ll be holding a town hall with Dr. Megan Healy, Chief Workforce Development Advisor to the Governor. We will discuss the ways in which the pandemic has especially affected issues of women’s unemployment, the large-scale exit of women from the workforce, Virginia’s plans to rebuild the economy, access to child care, and the G3 program. I hope you will join us:

Contacting our office
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